Misrepresented and Misunderstood
by LucretiaDecoy
Summary: Smoker and Tashigi work closely together in their hunt for Zoro and the Straw-Hat Pirates, but how much do these three really know about each other? A light-hearted look at why you shouldn't believe everything you see, with a bit of SmokerXTashigi and a bit of ZoroXTashigi. Repost of 2007 fic.
1. That Unforgettable Face

**A/N:** I'm not a religious One Piece fan and this fic is quite old now - so please excuse anything in here that is not in sync with the current storyline of the series. This fic deviates from the original One Piece storyline, starting from the end of the Arabasta Arc.

 **Disclaimer:** As usual, I don't own One Piece or any of the characters in this fic. I do own the title and the madness though.

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – That Unforgettable Face**

"Wow, you blew it right out of the water!"

Zoro opened one eye, looking across the ship in the direction his captain's voice had come from. Even though it was still early, and other members of the crew were busy with more important matters, Zoro found his captain standing by the canon, looking out towards the horizon with an impossibly huge grin plastered on his face. The crew's self-proclaimed number one marksman and weapon's expert Usopp had apparently just blown up another rock somewhere out to sea, and now looked suitably impressed with his handiwork, particularly since their captain was cheering his actions. Zoro sighed and closed his eye again, resting his head against the railings. Every member of their pirate crew had a sizeable bounty on their heads and more than one enemy who would gladly cash it in; and so, Zoro thought dryly to himself, Captain Luffy was helping the situation by needlessly causing large explosions around their brightly-coloured and already overly unique ship.

"Hey there Mr Swordsman, will you join us for a little snack?"

Zoro growled quietly, opening his eyes to see Robin standing over him with a plate in each of her hands. Before he could stop himself, he ran his eyes over the full length of her body before once more fixing his eyes onto hers.

"I was sleeping," he lied, hoping that she would leave him alone.

"Are you sure I can't tempt you?" Robin tried, smiling sweetly down at him.

Zoro slowly and purposefully moved his eyes in the direction of the table Robin had just come from. She followed his actions, rolling her eyes as she guessed his meaning.

"Oh don't mind him," she whispered, winking down at Zoro. "He's just being polite."

Zoro pulled a face at Robin sceptically, but she appeared not to have noticed that their chef was making rude hand gestures in Zoro's direction.

"I'm not hungry," Zoro grumbled, closing his eyes.

"Well, if you change your mind…" Robin said with a sigh.

Zoro remained silent, waiting for her shadow to move before opening his eyes to thin slits to watch her walk back over to the table. He involuntarily quirked an eyebrow as he saw the look of relief on the chef's face: apparently the love-sick idiot had only bothered preparing food for the women in the crew. Zoro was not sure if Sanji's constant fawning over the ladies was a sign of a deep-rooted insecurity, or if the man was just a hopeless womaniser; but whatever the case, Zoro really did not care. And of course, Sanji the love cook was not the only reason Zoro felt he could not join the others for a snack. Zoro was still actively avoiding Nami, as she was beginning to hound him for the money he had borrowed from her, and Zoro still neither trusted nor liked Robin. Everyone else in the crew had readily accepted her as one of their own, despite the fact that she had stowed away aboard their ship only hours after fighting against them all. To Zoro, it seemed just a little too convenient that, when they had first met Robin, she was hiding behind a strong man and his crew, and after Luffy defeated Robin's leader, she simply switched sides, finding herself someone even stronger to protect her. And Zoro really did not care for the way that Robin had won over the rest of the crew. Unlike the others, his trust could not be bought or charmed out of him with money or the bat of an eyelid.

Closing his eyes again and feigning sleep, Zoro continued to relax in the sun. He had actually been asleep before Luffy and Usopp began blowing up rocks, but the abrupt awakening had been a welcome one, as he had been in the throes of a turbulent nightmare. Zoro did not often dream about Kuina, but for some reason, she had suddenly begun appearing in his mind almost every time he fell asleep. Of course, he had dreamt of her regularly when she first died – which was only to be expected, since he had spent every minute of his life up until that point training for the day that he would defeat her in combat. Kuina had been the biggest thing in his life when he first began his training to become the greatest swordsman, and it never ceased to frustrate and motivate him when she defeated him so easily in every battle they had. Her funeral was still a sickeningly surreal memory to Zoro, as it marked the moment he truly began to accept that she was gone, and he would never see her face again, or have the chance to show her how good he had become in his years of training that would follow.

Zoro opened his eyes again, reaching into his pocket for a cloth. He was painfully aware of the fact that he had been using his swords a lot recently, and he had not devoted the necessary time and care to them that they now so desperately needed. He made a mental note to visit a blacksmith the next time they reached land. Of course, he thought with a growl of contempt, this would mean asking Nami for even more money, which she would gladly lend him, adding extortionate amounts of interest to the total when it came to repayment. But, as Zoro slowly slid the Wado Ichimonji from its sheath, he realised that he could not wait any longer. The surface of his favoured sword was scratched and pitted and the blade had lost its lustre. He began wiping the metal with the cloth he had, but soon realised that no amount of polishing could hide the damage the blade had suffered of late.

Zoro abandoned the cloth and picked up the sword, holding it up in the air and slowly turning it around, studying every inch of it carefully. Despite the fact that he had owned the famous Wado Ichimonji longer than Kuina had, Zoro still considered it to be her sword. In a sense, it was their sword. It was the key to both their dreams, and, to Zoro, a symbol of the promise he and Kuina made the night before she died: one of them would become the greatest swordsman ever. Zoro could see the look of quiet determination on Kuina's face that night, the tracks of her tears glistening in the moonlight.

"That girl…" Zoro muttered, slowly lowering his arm, his eyebrows drawing together as Kuina's face slowly matured inside his head and acquired a pair of red-rimmed glasses.

Perhaps, he mused, that girl was the reason Kuina had been on his mind so much of late. The marines had never really been a concern for Zoro until he met that girl marine in Loguetown. It had been shocking enough for him that she had been wearing Kuina's face, but when he had fought her, she had spoken the exact same words Kuina had once said to him: she accused him of not taking her seriously as a swordsman because she was a woman.

Zoro growled, roughly re-sheathing the Wado Ichimonji. Seeing the woman once had been bad enough, but she had followed him into the weaponry and lectured him on people like "that evil Roronoa Zoro who use their swords for their own selfish desires, which makes the blades weep". And she had been the one to catch him on his way back to the ship and challenge him to a fight – where she had even accused him of lying to her about his identity. Had she honestly expected him to own his name in the shop that day after she had just confessed that she intended to hunt him down and take his sword, his Wado Ichimonji, his most prized possession, from him because he was – in her opinion – misusing it? Zoro had just recovered from the shock and horror of meeting with an adult Kuina, an experience that he had never expected after her death at such a young age, when the marines caught up with his crew in Arabasta, and Zoro once more found himself being challenged to a duel by that damn girl.

Zoro dropped his head into his hands, groaning loudly as he remembered how he had turned around and run away from her. He, the mighty and infamous pirate-hunter-turned-pirate, the man who sought to become the greatest swordsman ever, had turned and run away from a silly, clumsy girl who had challenged him to a duel. Running away from a fight for the first time in his life had been shameful enough, but Zoro was distinctly aware that, as he had been running away from the girl, he had shouted something back at her about not wanting to have to look at her face any more, which she had become irate about.

Why, Zoro growled inwardly, why did she have to look so much like Kuina? And it was not just that she was bore a striking physical resemblance to Kuina, this marine also had a very similar personality to Kuina. When Zoro had told her that he did not like her because she had stolen his friend's face and personality, she had gotten angry at him – although he really could not be sure why. After all, he was the one that had to suffer every time he had to look at her or listen to her go on and on and on; she certainly did talk a lot. Kuina had never talked as much as that. Kuina had always managed to maintain a quiet level of dignified composure; this marine girl was a clumsy, headstrong, short-tempered fool. The very first time he had seen her, she had fought off two bandits with ease, only to trip over and lose her glasses, which she was apparently all but blind without. Kuina was never that clumsy – Kuina had the spirit of a warrior, she would never have stooped to nagging like that damned marine had.

Just as Zoro had hoped that he would never meet the girl who looked like Kuina again after their first meeting, Zoro still hoped that he would not have to see her face again. But of course, seeing her again was now unavoidable. It was no longer a matter of if he saw her again as when he would see her again. After Luffy's fight with the girl's commanding officer back in Loguetown, the girl and her fellow marines had been following Zoro, Luffy and the rest of their pirate crew. Just as the marines had caught up to them when they docked at Arabasta, Zoro knew that the same marines would undoubtedly clash with them the next time they stopped for any length of time – none of which would have been a real problem, but Luffy, being the idiot that he was, had insisted that Zoro save the marine captain from drowning back in Arabasta. If Zoro had simply let the captain drown, he and his staff – including the girl who had stolen Kuina's face – would not be still following them.

"Damn Luffy," Zoro muttered, wincing as he watched his captain cheer as another rock exploded on the horizon.

Luffy was an idiot, Zoro decided. He was a likeable idiot but an idiot nonetheless. Saving that marine captain had been probably the single biggest mistake Zoro had witnessed his captain make, and he was certain they would all soon feel the effects of Luffy's decision. Having consumed a Devil Fruit, the marine captain was exceptionally strong, and he was the only enemy Luffy had failed to defeat in battle – and not just on one occasion. The first time they had fought, Luffy, Zoro and the crew had narrowly escaped the powerful marine thanks to a storm, and on the second occasion Luffy's brother had come to their rescue. Zoro still did not understand why Luffy had instructed him to rescue the marine – as far as he could recall, the marine had been taken prisoner with Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Nami, and, even though they were in a confined space and fighting a common enemy, the first thing the marine captain had done was to attempt to kill Luffy. And yet still Luffy had insisted that Zoro go back and rescue him from certain death. At least, Zoro reasoned, the marine had then allowed them to escape without pursuit. But he had also promised that the next time he encountered their crew that he would kill them all.

So, Zoro concluded, even though the view around the ship was of calm waters, somewhere not too far beyond their sights was a navy ship loaded with marines, including a captain with a grudge and a girl who was just too like Kuina. Zoro shook his head slowly as he thought about the girl again. She was too bossy and undignified to be like Kuina; but still, she wore that face – that unforgettable face.

"Speaking to yourself again Zoro?" Nami asked loudly as she strutted past where Zoro was sat.

"Yes," Zoro replied, cocking a smirk at her. "I fancied some intelligent conversation for a change."

"Very funny," Nami said. "Just remember, you've got three days to pay what you owe me, or the amount doubles!"

"Doubles?" Zoro echoed, glancing down at his swords nervously. "That's hardly fair!"

"You knew the terms when you took my money," Nami called back.

Zoro growled at her, to which she turned her head, smiling sweetly back at him. He was almost certain she only said such things because she delighted in tormenting him.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Tashigi is having a particularly bad day, and finds herself thinking about her past encounters with Zoro. **Chapter 2 – Take Me Seriously**.


	2. Take Me Seriously

**Recap:** Leaving Arabasta, Zoro wondered if his dreams of Kuina were in any way related to the marine he met who looked just like her, and hoped that he would never see the girl again – even though he knew another meeting would be inevitable.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Take me Seriously**

"Lovely day, isn't it?"

"You're talking to a post again."

Tashigi yelped, grabbing her glasses from her hair and hurriedly placing them back onto her face, groaning as she found that the shape in front was not the fellow marine she had thought it to be, and was in fact a wooden post on the deck of the ship. Looking over her shoulder, she saw two men walking away from her, quietly sniggering at her actions. Tashigi sighed, slouching her shoulders in defeat as she felt her face burn. She briefly contemplated going back to her quarters and crawling under her bed-sheets – after all, her day just seemed to keep getting worse and worse, perhaps starting it all over again might make a difference to her luck.

At the morning role call, Tashigi had awoken to find that her glasses were not in the place she usually left them. After searching for them until she heard her own name being bellowed unceremoniously by her increasingly impatient captain, Tashigi resigned herself to the fact that she would be forced to endure the morning drill without her glasses. Hurriedly dressing herself and grabbing her sword, Tashigi had run for the deck, the combination of being without her glasses and being momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness of the sun hitting her eyes as she dashed out to join the others caused her to stagger a little, step on something that felt like seaweed, slide across the deck waving her arms about wildly before crashing into the mast of the ship. Acting on instinct to save herself from falling over, Tashigi had desperately grabbed the nearest thing, clutching onto it to steady herself, relieved that it did not seem to move.

"Rrr… Tashigi…"

At the sound of her name, Tashigi had then realised just what she had grabbed onto. Looking down at her hand she saw the fur lining of her captain's bulky leather overcoat. Grinning nervously she had looked at him hoping that, by some miracle of the Gods, Captain Smoker might actually be a in a good mood that day. But, even without her glasses to give clearer definition to the lines creasing his features, Tashigi could see that her commanding officer was considerably less than impressed by her behaviour.

"I'm sorry I'm late Sir!" she had hurriedly apologised, releasing his coat to salute him.

Captain Smoker had held her gaze for a moment before slowly and deliberately lowering his eyes to her hand. Tashigi faltered a little, but tried to maintain her stance.

"What's that for, Sergeant Major?" he asked, pointing a finger at her hand.

"Sir," Tashigi began, lifting her hand. "This is my Shigure, my sword for…"

Tashigi felt her voice fade as she lifted the green and white object closer to her face, where she suddenly found the answer as to why her sword felt so light that day.

"It's a parasol, Sir," she said weakly, looking up at her captain. "I thought it was my Shigure Sir, I lost my glasses this morning–"

"If this had been a real emergency, I would be lying dead at the bottom of the ocean by now," Smoker quietly interrupted her. "But at least you wouldn't have sun-burn."

The other officers on the deck began to snigger amongst themselves, making Tashigi suddenly wish that it was a real emergency, and that the ocean would swallow her up and hide her shame.

"You need to focus, Tashigi," Smoker added firmly. "We won't catch those Straw-Hat Pirates with an attitude like that, and I don't think a parasol is much protection from Roronoa Zoro."

"No Sir," Tashigi replied. "I mean, yes Sir. I mean…"

Tashigi, deciding that she could no longer even trust herself to speak sensibly at that point, silently saluted her captain, inwardly wincing as he shook his head at her and walked on.

Tashigi sighed again, dragging her fingers through her hair as she found herself instinctively walking back to her own quarters. She decided she would spend some time polishing her treasured Shigure and then go to the kitchens to make some tea for her captain. Silently glad that she was the only woman on Captain Smoker's crew, Tashigi gladly closed herself into the four-bunk room she had to herself, feeling immediately more at ease knowing that she had taken herself to the one place her fellow officers could not laugh at her.

Tashigi started towards the bunk she slept in, stopping short as her eyes landed on the poster mounted on the wall at her bed-side.

"Roronoa Zoro," she growled, sliding her Shigure from its sheath. "I'll get you yet!"

She forcefully stabbed her sword forwards, splitting Zoro's forehead with the tip of her blade. She was still furious at him for lying to her. Back in Loguetown, he had used her to help him get new and more powerful swords, and he had refused to finish their fight, giving some lame excuse about not liking her face and then accusing her of copying someone else. He was unaccountably rude, and with a bounty of 60 million on his head, he was obviously an evil man with no morals.

Tashigi sat down heavily on the edge of her bed, replaying in her mind how she had allowed Zoro and his crew to escape arrest. She still believed that she had done the wrong thing – the entire crew of Straw-Hat Pirates were lying, unconscious, at her feet, and she had ordered her subordinates to leave them as they were. Captain Smoker had left her in charge, and she had single-handedly allowed the pirate crew her captain had abandoned his post to chase to escape. Tashigi still did not really understand why the Straw-Hat Pirates had been involved in the political uprising in Arabasta, but she did know that they had stopped a villain and saved the whole country from disaster, something that she and her officers had failed to do. The Straw-Hat Pirates had apparently done something very good, but that made no sense: they were pirates, after all.

Tashigi turned her head to the poster of Roronoa Zoro, her hand still hanging on her Shigure, which was still stabbing into his forehead. Inside her head, Tashigi saw the look on Zoro's face when she had called him out and challenged him to a re-match in Arabasta. He had looked horrified and disgusted by her, and told her that he could not look at her face any more. Turning to look at her blade, Tashigi caught her own reflection in the polished metal, quietly wondering what was so wrong with her face. Of course, she thought bitterly, she was no beauty like that cocky orange-haired girl that sailed with Zoro; but if he was comparing her to that pirate girl, it was hardly a fair comparison. The orange-haired girl from Zoro's pirate crew dressed in clothes Tashigi not only could not afford to buy, but would never dare wear anyway. In Arabasta, the pirate girl had been dressed like a dancing girl, with more of her skin showing than concealed.

'Am I jealous?' Tashigi thought darkly.

Growling in frustration, Tashigi stood abruptly, yanking her sword from the wall. Jealous of what? The only thing those pirates had that was of any interest to her was Zoro's priceless sword, the Wado Ichimonji; and the next time she met him, Tashigi would defeat Zoro, and take the sword from him. And then, she thought harshly, she would teach Zoro that women could be swordsmen too.

Re-sheathing her sword at her side, Tashigi adjusted her glasses and smoothed a hand over her hair, before marching confidently out of the room and towards the kitchen. She needed to speak with her captain to be sure that they were still on the trail of the Straw-Hat Pirates, but thought it best that she approached him with a peace offering first, since he did not generally like company, and she assumed that he would still be angry with her for her tardiness at the morning drill.

After politely asking the kitchen staff for a tray of tea for two, Tashigi nervously began pacing outside the kitchen, growing increasingly nervous as her mind switched between concern that every marine who passed by was still laughing at her earlier blunders, her anger towards Zoro for not only failing to recognise that women could be strong too but also for disliking her because he did not find her face pretty enough for his own liking, and finally her apprehension about approaching Captain Smoker again.

"There you are, Sergeant Major."

Tashigi snapped out of her reverie, bowing her head politely and muttering out a hurried "thanks" as she accepted the tray of tea. Turning in the direction of the captain's quarters, Tashigi hoped that Smoker would be there, and also that he might have some news on how close they were to catching the Straw-Hat Pirates. Damn that Zoro, she would make him pay for misusing his sword and for being so unforgivably rude to a lady!

In her vigour, Tashigi banged on Captain Smoker's door a little harder than she had intended to, wincing a little as she heard him groan.

"Go away," he growled out in a hushed tone, his voice barely audible through the door.

Tashigi turned to go, looking down at the tray thoughtfully images of Zoro laughing at her and mocking her dancing through her mind.

"Sir, I brought you some tea, Sir!" she said firmly, knocking on the door again.

When her captain did not respond, Tashigi decided to take a chance, and she pushed open the door, marching smartly into the room. She stopped short as she found her captain sat at his desk, his feet crossed on the surface of the desk, his head and shoulders hidden behind a newspaper. After a brief moment of still silence, he lifted his index fingers, curling the edges of his newspaper downwards to peer over the top. As his eyes came into sight, Tashigi offered him a small smile, at which he opened out his newspaper, hiding his face again.

"Tashigi," he muttered.

"I brought tea Sir," Tashigi replied.

"Leave it on my desk," he said without looking up again.

Tashigi bared her teeth at him in frustration, gripping into the tray as she fought the urge to run over and grab the newspaper off of him and demand that he listen to her.

"I thought perhaps we could have a cup of tea together, Sir," she tried.

"Hm," he grunted.

Tashigi arched her eyebrows expectantly, but shortly realised that her captain was in one of his anti-social moods again, as he so often was. After graduating from her initial training with the navy, Tashigi had been assigned to work beneath Captain Smoker, and as such, had served him for several years; but she still could not claim to understand the man. He had been very helpful to her career, and had never belittled her or treated her any differently to his male officers, which Tashigi had always been grateful for. And, although she held her captain in very high esteem and had a great amount of respect for him, he did infuriate her at times. He was a bit of a rebel and an excellent boss, but sorely lacking in humanity.

Tashigi fought the urge to pull a face at her captain as she remembered how he had treated her when she reported back to him after allowing the Straw-Hat Pirates to escape arrest in Arabasta. She had been tearful, certain of a severe reprimand and full of disappointment in her own abilities, and good old Captain Smoker had simply said to her "suck it up, stop crying, learn from what you did and grow stronger". Insensitive jerk, Tashigi thought coldly.

Hardening her resolve, Tashigi started to approach Smoker's desk, only to trip on something by her feet, dropping the tray and smashing the cups, saucers and even the teapot. She yelped as the tea splashed onto her hand, burning her skin.

"What is wrong with you girl?" Smoker growled, rustling his newspaper about as he tried to look over to see where she had landed. "How many times do I have to tell you? Put your glasses on!"

"I am wearing my glasses!" Tashigi snapped.

Smoker met her eyes, staring at her blankly for a moment.

"That's yours, by the way," he said, pointing at the object that had tripped her, before lifting his newspaper back up and hiding himself behind it.

Tashigi looked down at her feet, groaning as she found her parasol. She began to gather up the broken pieces of china, whimpering at the red mark on her hand where the tea had burned her skin.

"Are you alright?" Smoker asked, his voice so quiet, Tashigi wondered if she had perhaps imagined hearing it.

"Sir?" she said quietly, frowning up at his desk.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice still barely more than a whisper.

"Um…"

Tashigi began hurriedly swiping the broken fragments back onto the tray, suddenly wanting to be out of his room as quickly as she could. Grabbing her parasol in one hand and her tray in the other, Tashigi hurriedly stood, gasping as Smoker sharply folded his newspaper over, fixing his eyes onto her.

"E-excuse me," she said weakly, bowing her head and turning on her heel.

She heard her captain's chair scrape against the ground behind her as he stood and she promptly quickened her pace to leave. She paused at the door, inwardly cursing herself as she realised that she could not open the door without first putting down either the tray or her parasol. Before she could make a decision on which to do, she heard Smoker cross the room towards her in a few easy strides. He grabbed her wrist, lifting her hand. Shocked by his sudden actions, Tashigi dropped her parasol, yelping as it stabbed her foot before clattering to the ground.

"You should put this is some cold water," Smoker told her, indicating the burn on her hand.

"Thank you Sir, I will," she replied, wishing he would let her go so that she could hide somewhere and beat herself up for her own accursed clumsiness.

"And next time…" he said slowly. "Be more careful!"

"I'll try Sir," Tashigi politely replied.

Smoker held her wrist for a moment longer, staring at her with an unreadable expression, before opening his fingers. Moving faster than she did when in a duel, Tashigi yanked the door open and darted out, running back towards the kitchen. As she neared her destination, Tashigi suddenly remembered her parasol, moaning pitifully as she realised that Captain Smoker still had it. Just as Zoro could not take her seriously as a swordsman, her captain would never be able to take her seriously as an officer if she did not do something drastic and soon.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Tashigi has been a bit ditzy lately – more so than usual – and Smoker thinks he knows why. **Chapter 3 – Hindsight is a Wonderful Thing**.


	3. Hindsight is a Wonderful Thing

**Recap:** Tashigi was having a rotten day, what with memories of Zoro making an idiot of her fresh in her mind, and her captain being such an emotional retard.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Hindsight is a Wonderful Thing**

Smoker angrily marched back in the direction of his own quarters, trying to clear his mind. After a prolonged radio communication with Captain Hina, he felt ready to kill something, and decided it would be in the best interest of his crew if he concealed himself into his own room until he had calmed down. Kicking open his door, he began looking about desperately for something that ought to afford him some peace, smiling as he finally located it.

"Do not disturb," he read aloud from the small wooden sign, happily hanging it onto the door handle before slamming the door shut.

Grabbing up his newspaper, Smoker headed towards his desk, the memory of Hina's overly girly voice, dripping with condescension, fading in his mind already. Smoker dropped himself into his chair, propping his booted feet onto his desk and lit a cigar, drawing on it deeply before opening out his newspaper with a sigh to commence reading. Skimming through most of the contents of the newspaper, Smoker strategically sought out any mention of Loguetown, deciding that since he had abandoned his post there, he ought to at least keep himself abreast with any goings-on. Hina, of course, had been quick to remind him that he ought to have returned to his post by now. Hina who was so self-righteous, and never did any wrong herself, he thought bitterly.

Trying to push the memories of the model marine captain from his mind, Smoker tried to concentrate on what he was reading, trying to calm himself. He did not have long before afternoon drills, and he did not want to attend them feeling as snippy as he did right then. Focussing his attention on an article about a group of bandits who had raided a street market in Loguetown, Smoker finally found himself becoming suitably distracted from his own concerns: until he suddenly heard someone banging at his door. Groaning in despair, he opened his mouth to ask if the idiot daring to disturb his peace could even read – after all, the sign outside his door ought to have been blatant enough – but something about the urgency of the banging made him a little concerned.

"Go away," he growled, speaking to allow the person to know that he was in his quarters, but also to reinforce what the "do not disturb" sign on the door suggested: he wanted to be left alone.

Peeking over the top of his newspaper expectantly, Smoker sighed in relief when it appeared that the person had given up their efforts, returning to his article.

"Sir, I brought you some tea, Sir!"

Smoker jerked in his seat at the suddenness of Tashigi's voice outside of the door as she began banging at his door again. He pulled a face at the door, willing her to go away; she really was the very last person Smoker needed or even wanted to see right at that moment. Hiding behind his newspaper, he began mouthing the words "please go away" to himself, hoping that she would somehow get the message; but apparently she once more had something pressing on her mind, as a moment later, she barged into the room regardless. Smoker heard her walk halfway into his room before she stopped. He waited for her to say or do something, but she remained perfectly silent. Containing a sigh, Smoker pulled down the corners of his newspaper, looking over the top of the pages at her. She was standing stiffly in the middle of the room with a tray containing a teapot and two tea cups and saucers in front of herself, her face as intense as ever. As he met her eyes she smiled tightly at him, the gesture only affirming his beliefs that she had something on her mind, something he rather suspected he did not want to hear.

"Tashigi," he greeted her under his breath as he lifted the newspaper up again, blocking her out of his view.

"I brought tea Sir," she said.

"Leave it on my desk," Smoker tried, hoping that she would take the hint.

Although, Smoker thought darkly, if the girl could not even respect a "do not disturb" sign on her captain's door, there was probably little hope of dissuading her now.

"I thought perhaps we could have a cup of tea together, Sir," she said, a hint of emotion creeping into her voice.

"Hm," Smoker grunted, trying to ignore the pang of guilt he felt.

It was not that he was trying to reject her it was simply that he just really could not face talking business and politics after such a bitter conversation with Hina. And politics and business were all Tashigi ever spoke to him about. Of course, he was her captain, she was his responsibility – but sometimes he did wonder if the girl ever thought of anything but work and swords. Obviously she did think of other things, he reminded himself, since her clumsiness and general ditzy behaviour was indicative of a girl who was a bit of a dreamer. She was so young and determined, but often totally clueless. He could sense that she was worrying over something, but decided that whatever it was, he could make it up to her later. After all, it would do her no harm to learn to curb her emotions a little and carry herself more like a marine of the navy.

Turning the page in the paper, Smoker heard Tashigi start towards him, her second footstep followed by a series of bumping noises and an almighty crash of smashing crockery. His already raw nerves shattered at last, Smoker began fighting against his newspaper to see what had happened.

"What is wrong with you girl?" he demanded. "How many times do I have to tell you? Put your glasses on!"

"I am wearing my glasses!" Tashigi snapped back.

Smoker met her eyes, staring at her blankly for a moment. Her face was red – whether from embarrassment at her predicament or simply from frustration he could not be sure. She still had that determined look sparkling in her dark eyes her lips pressed tightly together, her jaw squared. She was so young, and worked so hard, but sometimes Smoker found it difficult to take the girl entirely seriously; after all, she had just tripped on her own parasol, the item she had brought to the morning roll call with her, claiming it to be a legendary sword.

"That's yours, by the way," he told her, pointing at the parasol before hiding his grin behind his newspaper.

It was cruel to laugh at her, but he did find her lack of grace one of her most endearing qualities. She wanted so badly to succeed in the male dominated world of the naval marines, and she was an excellent swordsman and officer – but underneath it all, she was still a terribly clumsy, dizzy little girl, too often ruled by her emotions. Smoker knew that he was often a little harsh on her, but he always hoped that she understood why he had to be so; he wanted her to succeed just as much as she herself did, and he knew that it was his job as her commanding officer to motivate her as best he could.

However, Smoker's grin vanished as he heard her make a small, sad noise that almost sounded as though she was on the point of tears.

"Are you alright?" he asked her quietly, frowning as he awaited her answer.

"Sir?" she responded softly.

"Are you hurt?" he asked her, inwardly kicking himself for not considering that she had just shattered a lot of china and spilt boiling water everywhere, meaning there was quite a good chance that she had in fact injured herself somehow.

"Um…" she said shakily.

Smoker waited for her to continue, listening carefully as she began hurriedly swiping the broken fragments back onto the tray and grabbed up her parasol. Smoker sharply folded his newspaper over, fixing his eyes onto her as she stood, ignoring the small gasp of surprise she let out as their eyes met.

"E-excuse me," she said weakly, bowing her head and turning on her heel.

Smoker shook his head in despair, pushing back his chair and dropping his newspaper to his desk. He watched her scurry to the door, where she began to panic over how to open the door whilst balancing a tray of broken crockery and a parasol. Stepping out from behind his desk, Smoker marched over to help her out, stopping short as he spotted a red mark on her left hand. Grabbing her wrist and lifting her hand closer to his face to inspect the wound, he was relieved to see that it was nothing more than a scorch-mark, but equally angered with himself for not affording her the attention she had sought earlier.

"You should put this is some cold water," he advised her, looking down at her.

"Thank you Sir, I will," she replied blankly, looking back up at him, a slightly awkward look on her face.

"And next time…" he said slowly, biting back his own emotions before continuing. "Be more careful!"

"I'll try Sir," Tashigi politely replied.

Smoker held her wrist for a moment longer, looking her over thoughtfully. He wanted to take her to the crew's medic himself, but he did not want her to ever think that he was being soft with her just because she was a woman. He believed in her as a marine, and he wanted her to have confidence in his faith in her. He reluctantly released her, alarmed by just how quickly she shot out of his room. He sighed, looking down at the "do not disturb" sign, which was swinging gently over the door handle. Even with her glasses on she had failed to notice it. Lowering his eyes further, he saw her parasol still lying at his feet. With a small smile he bent down to retrieve it, stepping out into the hallway; but Tashigi had long disappeared from sight.

"Strange girl," Smoker muttered, closing the door again with a sigh.

Silently deciding that her pride had probably been hurt worse than her skin, Smoker returned to his desk, casually fingering through a pile of wanted posters on his desk. The two key posters in his collection were of course Straw-Hat Luffy at 100 million and Roronoa Zoro at 60 million. Interesting, Smoker thought to himself, that Tashigi had some sort of grudge against the swordsman Zoro. She had spoken about it more times than Smoker cared to recall; but he still did not know why she got so riled up over the mention of the name Zoro. She had said something about one of Zoro's swords, but Smoker had been more concerned by the fact that every time they discussed Zoro or the Straw-Hat Pirates, Tashigi instantly began blushing and became all flustered and unable to string together a coherent sentence.

Of all the officers Smoker had ever overseen, Tashigi was the last one he had ever expected to lose to a pirate.

Of course, it was not unheard of. In fact, Smoker thought bitterly, it was all too common a problem in the navy, and typically affected only the finest of female officers. Something about the charm of the forbidden bad boy pirate always managed to lure the women from their posts as officers and from their better senses. Tashigi was young and painfully naïve, she knew little of what her own male colleagues did in their spare time, let alone what a pirate got up to. Smoker had witnessed it time and time again, and he was growing increasingly concerned at how quickly Tashigi appeared to be following the pattern of previous female officers who let a foolish moment of passion over-rule their own common sense.

Smoker could not question Tashigi's decision to allow the Straw-Hat Pirates to go free in Arabasta – he had done the exact same thing himself only hours earlier – but he did have a strong suspicion that her motivations had been related to her feelings for one young, scarred, green-haired swordsman. And Smoker's mounting anger towards Zoro was only amplified by the fact that he was, sickeningly, indebted to the man. After all, Zoro had saved his life in Arabasta, dragging him from what had almost become his watery grave. After demanding a reason for his actions, the arrogant swordsman had merely spouted the excuse that he had been following orders from his own captain, even though he himself felt that Smoker ought to have been left to drown. Allowing Zoro, Luffy and the others to escape really was the very least Smoker could have done, since without their assistance, he would surely have died. But letting them go still did not truly repay the debt Smoker felt he owed Zoro.

He realised that he should not have left Tashigi in charge in Arabasta – in fact, he should not have left her at all, since when she had returned to him, she had acquired a severe injury to one leg that she had refused to explain, despite Smoker's concerns. He should have worked harder to stop the Straw-Hat Pirates in Loguetown – but if he had stopped them then, who would have saved Arabasta?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, Smoker thought bitterly. So many things that could have been said or done differently, so many mistakes that seemed so obvious afterwards.

Smoker miserably picked up his newspaper, barely able to focus on the words, much less read or make any sense of them. The sooner he caught up to the Straw-Hat Pirates and brought them to justice, the sooner he could clear his mind and attempt to return to a normal routine, Smoker told himself.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** The Going Merry docks on an island to allow Luffy to complete his all-important mission to find a musician, but the marines are hot on the heels of the Straw-Hat Pirates. **Chapter 4 – If You Only Knew**.


	4. If You Only Knew

**Recap:** Smoker was concerned that Tashigi had developed feelings for Zoro, and swore to bring the Straw-Hat Pirates down.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – If You Only Knew**

"Remind me why we're here?" Zoro asked moodily, scanning their surroundings with a suspicious eye.

"We need to find a new member for our crew, Zoro!" Luffy cheerfully replied. "The most important one of all: a musician!"

"Idiot," Zoro grumbled as Luffy jogged off towards the village ahead of them.

"Stay close to me ladies, I'll keep you safe from any dangers," Sanji said sweetly, sliding up between Nami and Robin.

"I need to get some paper and ink," Nami commented, ignoring Sanji. "Then I'm shopping for clothes."

"I'll meet you at the dressmaker's," Robin offered.

"And I'll help you ladies chose the perfect outfits!" Sanji offered.

"Just drop dead, you slimy bastard!" Zoro growled at Sanji.

"Hey, back off Marimo!" Sanji snapped back. "It's not my fault the ladies don't like you."

"They don't like you either, you miserable creep!" Zoro shot back.

"You got a problem with me, sword boy?"

"Maybe I do! I thought you were the ship's cook, not the ship's pervert!"

"Oh yeah? And I thought you were the greatest swordsman. I saw you get wasted by Mihawk and you ran away from a girl!"

"I didn't run away from her!"

"You did too. I was there I saw you!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Knock it off, you two!" Nami yelled.

"You see what you did Marimo?" Sanji said, pouting sweetly. "You made the beautiful Miss Nami angry!"

Zoro opened his mouth to argue back, but Nami hurriedly stepped between the two men again.

"And we've lost our captain again!" she pointed out.

"Damn Luffy!" Zoro growled. "I'll start looking for him, you be sure to get some food supplies, and don't just spy on the women!" he added, scowling at Sanji.

Zoro marched off in the direction he had last seen Luffy heading, reasoning that if there was a restaurant nearby, their captain was sure to be there. He did not wish to spend too long pointlessly chasing after Luffy, since he was still painfully aware that he needed to take his swords to a blacksmith. As he began his search for Luffy, Zoro began wondering how he would pay a blacksmith, since he no longer felt he could ask Nami for money. He really thought she was being ridiculous and selfish asking him to repay her, since the money he needed was to service the swords he used to protect her life from danger; but Nami was so blinded by her love of money, he doubted she would even listen to him if he tried to forward such an argument.

Zoro began walking around the village, but soon found himself completely isolated from the rest of the crew, and his hopeless sense of direction left him completely lost. He had not found any sort of eating establishment, but he could see a blacksmith nearby, and so decided to take the opportunity to drop off his swords.

Upon entering the blacksmith, Zoro found it to be welcomingly warm, feeling drowsy just standing by the entranceway.

"Can I help you there?" a voice called to him.

"Yes, I'd like you to work on these swords please," Zoro replied, walking further into the delightful heat of the workshop.

"Alright then, three swords, that will cost you 3,000," the man advised. "Would you like to borrow a sword to use while you wait?"

Zoro paused thoughtfully, eying a pile of sandbags by the entrance to the workshop.

"Can I just wait here until you're done?" he asked.

"Certainly," the blacksmith replied.

"Thanks," Zoro said, bowing his head politely.

Zoro happily sat down amongst the sandbags, and within minutes, he had fallen blissfully asleep.

* * *

Tashigi stretched her arms above her head, glad to be walking on solid ground again. After being stationed at Loguetown, she had not done much sailing until her captain had decided to leave his post to pursue the Straw-Hat Pirates, since which time, Tashigi had found herself spending more time at sea than on land. She looked about herself for any signs of her captain, but could not locate him. Probably just as well, she thought quietly, he never really approved of her visiting a blacksmith, as he knew she was always gone a long time when she went anywhere that involved swords.

Taking the opportunity to sneak away without being noticed, Tashigi quickly worked her way through the village ahead, soon locating the local blacksmith. She cheerfully made her way inside, handing her Shigure to the blacksmith.

"Could you please work on this sword for me?" she asked him.

"Certainly Miss, it would be an honour," the blacksmith replied, taking the sword from her. "But I have another job to finish first, so I may be a while."

"That's alright, I can come back later," Tashigi assured him.

"Ah good," the blacksmith said, hanging Tashigi's Shigure up on the wall. "That poor fellow has fallen asleep waiting for me, I can't keep him any longer."

Tashigi turned in the direction the old man was pointing, her face twisting in horror at the sight of none other than Roronoa Zoro, sat in a pile of sandbags, his head lolled back to one side, his mouth hanging open as he snored shamelessly.

"Wh-when did that man get here?" Tashigi asked, turning to the blacksmith.

"Well now, I couldn't say…" he began slowly scratching his head. "About an hour ago, I guess. Or maybe it was two hours ago…"

"Did he come here alone?" Tashigi demanded.

The blacksmith looked up at Tashigi, smiling at the look on her face.

"You know the young man then?" he asked slyly.

Tashigi felt her face burn, nervously adjusting her glasses as she tried to talk her way out of her predicament.

"I've been looking for him," she explained.

"I see…" the blacksmith said, smirking at her as he nodded his head.

"Never mind!" Tashigi said, waving a hand at him dismissively and marching over to Zoro.

She paused as she stood over him, finding it oddly undignified to see the mighty Roronoa Zoro sprawled over a pile of sandbags, his legs spread apart, arms draped over the bags, his jaw hanging open. Shaking her head to clear her senses she planted her hands on her hips firmly and straightened her back.

"Roronoa Zoro!" she yelled.

"Whuh?" Zoro grunted, lifting his head and closing his jaws.

Tashigi watched him lazily rub at his eyes with his fists before looking up at her, blinking through the haze of his own sleepiness as he tried to focus on her.

"Kui…na…" he muttered, squinting at Tashigi for a moment.

Then suddenly Tashigi saw Zoro adopt the same expression he always seemed to wear when he saw her: that look of utter horror and disgust. He shot upwards, scrambling back through the sandbags and almost falling over again.

"What are you doing here?" he wailed.

"I challenge you to a duel, Roronoa Zoro, and this time, you won't run away from me!" Tashigi barked, waggling a finger at him.

She watched Zoro glance about himself desperately, silently noticing then that his swords were absent from his hip. Frowning, Tashigi reached a hand down to her own hip, feeling suddenly stupid as she remembered that she had just handed over her own weapon. Before she could think of what to do next, Zoro threw a sandbag at her, knocking her off her feet.

"Hey!" she yelled, watching him leap over her fallen form and run off at full speed. "Damn him!"

Wrestling against the heavy bag, Tashigi eventually freed herself, tearing after Zoro as fast as she could.

"Get back here and fight me you cowardly pirate!" she screamed as Zoro darted around a corner out of her sight.

* * *

Smoker was distinctly sure that he had just seen one of the Straw-Hat Pirates – the long-nosed sharpshooter Usopp – but a second glance had presented him with an empty alleyway. Shaking his head he walked on, rounding a corner where something smacked hard into him, knocking the wind from his lungs and almost causing him to fall over. Staggering to regain his balance he growled angrily, his eyes quickly locating the cause of his problem: lying a short distance in front of him was Zoro.

"You!" Smoker growled, narrowing his eyes and clenching his fists at his sides.

"Damn it!" Zoro cursed, scrambling to his feet.

"You won't get away from me this time, Zoro!" Smoker warned him.

"Leave him to me Sir!" Tashigi yelled, running towards them.

"What?" Smoker grumbled, looking up as his Sergeant Major came running at Zoro.

Zoro squeaked out an alarmed noise before dashing off to one side, leaving both marines behind him. Smoker turned to watch the swordsman run before turning back to Tashigi, who had altered her path to pursue him.

"I've got it under control, Sir!" she called to him.

Smoker pulled a face at her, but apparently Tashigi was suffering from one of her famous lapses in concentration, as she was chasing after one of the world's most notorious swordsmen without a single weapon on her person. The only thing more ridiculous than watching the silly girl running after a wanted criminal unarmed was watching Zoro running away from her, looking genuinely terrified of her.

"What the hell is this world coming to?" Smoker grumbled.

* * *

"Damn it!" Zoro yelped, skidding to a halt as he reached a dead-end.

"I've got you now, Roronoa Zoro!" he heard the marine girl yell behind him.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" he cursed, shuffling back a few steps.

Glancing over his shoulder, Zoro winced as he found that she was still wearing Kuina's face. Logic leaving his mind Zoro charged at the wall ahead, attempting to scale it to freedom. Scrambling desperately for the top of the wall, Zoro muttered out a curse as one hand missed its intended target, dragging against sharp stone and tearing his skin. He refused to look at that girl a minute longer he had seen enough of Kuina's face lately without having to endure it again. Grabbing desperately with his uninjured hand, Zoro finally managed to hook his fingers over the top of the wall, holding on desperately as his feet slipped beneath him.

Zoro hurriedly swung up his other arm, grabbing his arm over the top of the wall, hooking his weight on the crook of his elbow as he kicked with his feet in an attempt to throw himself over the wall completely. Just as he began to grow confident that he could actually escape the persistent girl, Zoro suddenly felt something yank at his trousers, stiffening as he felt the girl's fingers curl around the waistband of his trousers, her fingernails brushing against the bare skin of his back.

"Get back down here and fight me, you coward!" she cried, grabbing her other hand onto his trousers and tugging downwards.

"Stop it!" Zoro wailed, looking back over his shoulder at her.

"Get back down here!" she insisted, tugging at his trousers again.

"Are you trying to undress me?" Zoro yelled at her. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why won't you fight me?" she yelled back. "You don't think I can fight just because I'm a woman! That's it, isn't it? You don't think I'm as strong as that orange-haired girl on your crew!"

Zoro quirked an eyebrow at her, silently telling her that she had far more power over him than Nami ever would.

"Fine!" he grumbled, jumping back down to stand before her, relieved that her hands were forced from him as he jumped.

"Let's settle this!" she said, grabbing a hand at her hip.

Zoro lowered his eyes to her side, cocking a grin as he saw that the belt hanging around her hips was empty. He slowly lifted his eyes to hers, feeling a little more confident to find her so unprepared.

"I left my Shigure at the blacksmith's!" she wailed.

"I don't have my swords either," Zoro confessed, holding out his hands. "So, did you want to settle this with hand-to-hand combat?"

Zoro grinned again as he saw the girl's throat move and heard her gulp audibly. Taking advantage of her moment of panic, Zoro slowly scanned his eyes over her, noting that her sword and gun were not the only items she had discarded since he had last met her. She was wearing the same dark trousers he had seen her in before, but her loose shirt and bulky jacket had been swapped for a fitted vest that clung to her figure, leaving very little to the imagination. Looking at her body, Zoro felt his face begin to twitch as he instinctively began to think of her as Kuina again. Kuina had only just begun developing the curves of womanhood when she had passed away, but this marine had the body of a woman, despite her hopelessly girly face.

"I'll make a deal with you," Zoro began, unable to look her in the eye.

"I don't make deals with pirates!" she hurriedly snapped at him. "And stop looking at me like that! My face is up here!"

Zoro quickly turned his head to one side, cringing as he realised that he had been staring at her chest.

"How old are you anyway?" he asked, the question slipping out before he could stop himself.

"It's not polite to ask a lady her age!" she shrieked.

"I thought you wanted me to treat you like a man!" Zoro yelled, turning back to face her, unable to stop the kinks in his expression as he locked eyes with the grown-up Kuina.

"I'm twenty-one!" she moodily answered him.

"Gah!" Zoro yelped. "You're the same age as her too!"

The fact that the marine girl had the same colour, style and length of hair, the same dark, determined eyes, the same small, sharp features as Kuina was bad enough for Zoro, but to learn that she was the same age Kuina would have been had she survived was simply too much to bear.

"Get your face away from me, it's too scary!" he wailed, leaping at the wall again.

Tashigi growled, watching the pirate throw himself at the wall again. He was a nasty, rude, dishonourable idiot. She had been insulted many times in the past, but she had never been told that she had a "scary" face before; and hearing the insult from a man made it all the more hurtful.

"Fine, I'll fight you with my bare hands!" she declared, feeling she had little to fear from a young punk of a pirate who was stupid enough to think he could defy gravity and throw himself over a ten feet wall.

"What?" Zoro echoed, sliding down the wall and casting her a withering look.

"I'll fight you with my bare hands," she growled, lowering into a defensive stance. "It's not like I haven't been trained in hand-to-hand combat!"

Zoro groaned at her, scratching a hand at the back of his head. Tashigi licked her lips nervously as she saw the sinews in Zoro's thick arm twitch as he scratched at his head. He was not only taller than her, but he was probably also twice her weight just in muscle. But she refused to show fear; she was determined to prove that she was as good a marine as her male counterparts, and, just because Zoro was a skilled swordsman, it did not necessarily follow that he would be able to out-manoeuvre her in hand-to-hand combat.

"I don't want to fight you," Zoro said, his eyes lowering to her chest again.

"Stop treating me like a silly little girl!" Tashigi yelled, swinging a well-aimed kick at Zoro's shin.

To her amazement, Zoro did not dodge her attack, the toe of her boot clunking against his shinbone.

"That hurt!" he protested. "Just leave me alone! And stop looking at me with that face! You shouldn't be allowed to wear that face!"

"Stop insulting my face!" Tashigi argued back, kicking her other foot at Zoro's other leg, again connecting with his shin.

"Ow!" Zoro yelled, clenching his hands into fists. "Stop it!"

"Fight me!" Tashigi growled at him.

When he failed to make a move, Tashigi decided to take the lead again, and thrust a fist at Zoro's gut. With unexpected speed, Zoro bent back out of her range, grabbing her wrist and twisting her arm around and up her back, pinning her up against the wall. Tashigi struggled against his hold, wiggling her shoulders as she tried to slip her wrist from his hold; but he held onto her tightly, leaning over her to keep her firmly pressed against the wall.

"You're trying to humiliate me!" she wailed.

"I'm trying to stop you from beating the crap out of me!" Zoro growled into her ear, the sudden closeness of his breath causing Tashigi to stiffen.

Tashigi slowly moved her eyes around to look back at Zoro, yelping as she found his face mere inches from her own.

"I'll make a deal with you," he said softly.

"I don't make deals with pirates!" Tashigi snarled back.

"I'll let you go, and you'll let my crew get off this island before you go running to tell Smokey about us," Zoro offered.

"Captain Smoker will kill you all before you get anywhere near your ship!" Tashigi said confidently, despite being inwardly torn between wishing Captain Smoker would come to her rescue and feeling relieved that Captain Smoker could not see the predicament she had so foolishly gotten herself into.

"Not if you distract him for us until we can escape," Zoro replied.

"And why would I do that?" Tashigi spat at him.

"Because you don't want me to break your arm?" Zoro asked.

Tashigi felt a rush of adrenaline flush through her body as Zoro tightened his grip on her wrist and pushed her arm upwards until she squeaked in pain, holding her at the point of pain.

"What's it to be?" he asked, moving closer to her.

"I won't let you escape again!" Tashigi replied, thinking quickly and stamping one foot backwards, stomping her heel onto Zoro's toes.

Zoro growled in pain, loosening his hold. Tashigi quickly slipped her wrist from his grasp, spinning around to face him. She raised her fists in front of herself, but Zoro hurriedly grabbed her wrists, pushing her back against the wall, leaning the weight of his body against his hold. Tashigi stared up at him fearfully, frowning a little as she saw his eye twitch and his top lip curl.

"Why do you have that face?" he growled.

Tashigi mewled out a cry of despair, baring her teeth at him angrily as she realised that she could not even manipulate her legs to kick him thanks to his close proximity to the entire length of her body. And, to her utter horror, as he held her pinned to the wall, his eyes were dropping to her chest again. She cried out, closing her eyes to block out the image of what was happening before her.

* * *

"I've got you now, Straw-Hat!" Smoker yelled, charging after the scrawny captain of the troublesome pirates.

"You've got to catch me first, Smokey!" Luffy called back over his shoulder, grinning impishly at the marine.

"Smile while you can, Straw-Hat!" Smoker warned him. "You'll be hanging from the gallows by noon tomorrow!"

"I can't die yet, I have too many things to do first!" Luffy replied, jumping up a pile of barrels and onto the roof of a nearby house.

Smoker made to follow him, skidding to a halt as he heard Tashigi screaming. He felt his blood run cold at the sound of her cry the distinct memory of her chasing Zoro unarmed replaying in Smoker's mind.

"Tashigi!" he bellowed, turning towards the direction of her voice and taking off.

"That was easy…" Luffy muttered, scratching his head curiously as he watched the captain charge off.

Cursing himself and Zoro under his breath, Smoker could not get to Tashigi soon enough for his own liking. He eventually reached a long narrow street, slowing as he began to check the smaller side alleys for any trace of his Sergeant Major.

"How dare you?" he heard Tashigi cry.

Jogging further up the street, Smoker eventually found Tashigi, standing at the end of an alleyway, pinned to a wall by Zoro, who was standing far too close to her for comfort.

"Get your filthy hands off of her, pirate!" Smoker barked, marching down the alleyway towards them.

Zoro glanced back at Smoker, ducking out of harm's way as Smoker tried to grab his neck. Zoro dropped down and tried to aim a sweeping kick at Smoker's legs, but Smoker stepped back out of his range. Zoro grabbed up something and threw it forwards, darting off down the alleyway as Smoker recovered his senses. Smoker growled, turning to see the pirate running off. He made to follow him, but a whimper from Tashigi brought his attention back to her with a jolt. He watched in alarm as she dropped to her knees, burying her face in her hands.

"Tashigi?" he said softly, leaning over to look at her face.

"I-I'm sorry, Sir!" she said into her hands. "I failed you Sir, I let him catch me off-guard!"

Smoker sighed, relieved to hear her words.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked her.

"Only a little Sir," she replied faintly. "Mostly my pride."

Smoker smiled, feeling more relieved by the second.

"Did he touch you?" he asked, hoping that she would understand his meaning without the need for further explanation.

She slowly lifted her head, her dark eyes looking up at him from between loose strands of her silken black hair. Smoker frowned at her sternly, wondering just how naïve she was: he had found her pinned to a wall by a pirate surely she understood his concerns?

"I-I left my Shigure at the blacksmith, Sir," she said, slowly standing up and brushing at her trousers with her hands.

Smoker frowned as he watched her stare blankly ahead of herself, her skin growing paler by the second.

"Tashigi…" he said slowly, reaching a hand out towards her.

"I'm sorry Sir!" she said firmly, turning to face him, saluting him, her face once more set into its typical look of the determined and ambitious marine. "It won't happen again, I promise Sir! Once I've retrieved my Shigure, we'll catch those Straw-Hat Pirates!"

Smoker looked at her for a moment, feeling an over-whelming urge to just take her into his arms. He was relieved that she was alright and so proud that she was still willing to get up and fight as a marine, just as he had trained her to.

"Damn right it won't happen again," he said sternly. "Because the next time you go running off without reporting to your captain, I'll court martial you, damn it!"

Smoker abruptly turned his back on her, closing his eyes as she muttered out another apology. As her commanding officer, he was obliged to say such things, but as a man who genuinely cared about her wellbeing and her career, it almost killed him every time he had to do it.

* * *

Zoro stared at the girl in front of him, unsure of what to do next. At least with her eyes closed he did not have to endure looking into those intense, determined eyes that sparkled with the same spirit as Kuina's had. But seeing Kuina's face on a woman's body was beginning to seriously mess with Zoro's psyche: he did not know if he ought to even be looking at her, and he was starting to feel an urge to rip his own shirt off and throw it over her, if only to remove the image from his mind before Kuina started appearing in his dreams with breasts.

Groaning again as he warred with himself, Zoro looked down at each of his hands in turn, finding they were still gripped around the girl's wrists. It seemed too easy to over-power this girl, which just confused Zoro even more, since over-powering Kuina had never been an option. Zoro had been pleased with himself if he could even stand after a confrontation with Kuina. Was what Kuina's father said true? Would Zoro have grossly surpassed Kuina in strength and ability as they grew? Was this girl a real representation of what Kuina would have become had she lived?

Zoro wanted to release the girl and run as far away from her as he could – after collecting his swords of course. His crew could go to hell for all he cared at that moment he simply had to get out of the mess he was in.

"Hey girl," he said, looking at the girl's tightly shut eyes. "You got any money on you?"

"What?" she squeaked, opening her eyes to glower at him.

"I need money to pay for the repairs to my swords," Zoro explained, hoping to use stealing her money as an excuse to get away from her.

"How dare you!" she screamed, struggling against his hold again.

Zoro arched his eyebrows at her, wondering if she had any idea how ineffective her movements were. She had no strength behind her actions, and Zoro wondered if she was just struggling for the sake of being seen to be fighting him off rather than because she actually wanted to escape.

"Get your filthy hands off of her, pirate!" a familiar, gruff voice echoed down the alley.

Zoro turned his head looking over his shoulder to see the marine captain Luffy had nicknamed "Smokey" pouncing at him. Zoro hurriedly ducked out of his grasp as Smokey tried to clamp a hand around his neck, gladly releasing the girl and dropping down to kick out Smokey's feet and make his escape. Zoro suppressed a curse as Smokey jumped back, avoiding his attack. Thinking as quickly as he could, Zoro grabbed up a nearby barrel lid and flung it at Smokey, using the distraction to leap to his feet and run back to the blacksmith's. Zoro did not dare to look back, deciding that, if Smokey and the girl had managed to find him, they had doubtlessly already encountered most, if not all of the rest of his crew, and everyone would be heading back to the ship already.

"Hey Zoro!" Luffy greeted him, leaping out of an alleyway to run alongside him. "Smokey's here!"

"I know," Zoro tightly replied. "I have to get back to the blacksmith's to get my swords."

"Which way is that?" Luffy asked.

Zoro skidded to a halt, turning to Luffy, who staggered back a few steps, blinking up at him blankly.

"I can't remember!" Zoro groaned, grabbing at his hair in frustration.

* * *

Tashigi kept her eyes tightly shut even though she was beginning to worry what Zoro might be doing while she could not see him. The urge to cry was building up inside her, and she was determined not to break down in front of her number one foe. She would not show such weakness. Inside her head she could still hear Captain Smoker yelling at her to "suck it up", and she would show him she could be just as strong as he was.

Tashigi held her breath as she heard Zoro let out an animalistic groan, a sound she had never heard any human make before, leaving her suddenly terrified as to just what he might be doing. Both of his hands were still grabbed around her wrists, pinning her against the wall; but Tashigi did not have to speculate as to his line of thinking for much longer, as he finally spoke.

"Hey girl," he said, his voice suddenly very casual, as though they were old acquaintances. "You got any money on you?"

"What?" Tashigi squeaked, opening her eyes to glower at him.

"I need money to pay for the repairs to my swords," Zoro explained, looking at her earnestly, as though his request was perfectly acceptable and reasonable.

"How dare you!" she screamed, struggling against his hold again.

Between Zoro's deceptive level of physical strength and her own weakness caused by trying to contain her tears of shame, Tashigi knew that thrashing around against Zoro's hold would do her no good; but she did not want him to think that she had given in to him. Finally, just as she thought she could hold in her emotions no longer, Tashigi heard her captain's voice.

"Get your filthy hands off of her, pirate!" Smoker shouted, the tone of his voice assuring Tashigi that Zoro was about to get what was coming to him.

Zoro turned his head from Tashigi, releasing her as Smoker tried to grab a hold of him. Dropping her arms to her sides, Tashigi let out a small sigh of relief, keeping her back pressed to the wall as her head began to spin, her eyes losing focus on the unfolding tussle before her. Tashigi bit her bottom lip, determined to "suck it up" and not let her emotions win her over. She saw Zoro run off and Smoker going after him, and finally allowed herself to let out a moan of defeat and relief. Her legs weak and buckling beneath her, Tashigi allowed herself to fall to her knees, burying her face into her hands as tears began to burn her eyes.

"Tashigi?"

Tashigi stiffened at the sound of her captain's voice, peeking through her fingers to see his shadow standing over her.

"I-I'm sorry, Sir!" she said hurriedly, trying to keep her face hidden from him until she had recomposed herself. "I failed you Sir, I let him catch me off-guard!"

She heard Smoker exhale heavily, probably exasperated with her inability to fight Zoro off, especially after telling him that she would. And her captain was a very observant man – she was certain he had noticed that she had no weapons whatsoever at her disposal, and he was probably disappointed in her and thinking about how stupid she could be.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked her.

Tashigi frowned behind her hands, surprised to hear the question leave her boss's lips.

"Only a little Sir," she replied quietly. "Mostly my pride."

Smoker was silent for a moment, further proving to Tashigi that the man had absolutely no sense of humour, since she had been trying to make light of the situation, if only to distract him from her pretty amateur errors.

"Did he touch you?" Smoker muttered, his question barely loud enough to reach her ears.

Tashigi froze for a second, Smoker's implications suddenly proving to be the catalyst Tashigi had been looking for to suppress her tears. Wiping carefully at her eyes to remove any traces of tears that may have escaped her earlier, Tashigi slowly lifted her head, looking up at Smoker from behind the curtain of her dark hair. Smoker looked suitably angry and disappointed, just as she had expected him to. He actually looked quite frightening, standing over her like a large, foreboding shadow, narrowed eyes looking down the length of his nose at her. No, Zoro had not touched her – at least, not in the way Smoker was implying. He had spent a lot of time staring at her chest, but Tashigi was not about to release such information to her captain. In fact, she thought darkly, even if Zoro had touched her in an unwelcome manner, Captain Smoker was the very last person Tashigi ever felt she could confide such a problem in.

"I-I left my Shigure at the blacksmith, Sir," she said, slowly standing up and brushing at her trousers with her hands, trying to keep her chin up.

"Tashigi…" he said slowly.

"I'm sorry Sir!" she said firmly, turning to face him, saluting him, refusing him the opportunity to point out just where she had gone wrong. "It won't happen again, I promise Sir! Once I've retrieved my Shigure, we'll catch those Straw-Hat Pirates!"

Smoker looked at her blankly for a moment, before the creases deepened in his face as he adopted a stern scowl.

"Damn right it won't happen again," he reprimanded her. "Because the next time you go running off without reporting to your captain, I'll court martial you, damn it!"

Tashigi winced at his words, wondering why he always had to be so cold.

"I'm sorry, Sir," she muttered.

Sticking her tongue out at his back, Tashigi began following her captain at a respectful distance as he started off out of the alleyway.

'Give me time, Smoker,' she thought to herself. 'I'll capture Roronoa Zoro, free the Wado Ichimonji, and when he hangs from the gallows and I finally get my promotion, you'll have no choice but to take me seriously as an officer and respect me then!'

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** An ill-timed storm, a disastrous confrontation with the navy, a lot of confusion, and Zoro finds himself in a very unexpected position. **Chapter 5 – How Cruel**.


	5. How Cruel

**Recap:** The Straw-Hat Pirates docked on an island, but the marines were close behind them, and as Smoker chased after Luffy, Zoro and Tashigi began a battle of their own.

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – How Cruel**

"Nami…"

Nami pointed her nose to the sky and walked off, Zoro's swords clinking together in her arms.

"Nami?" Zoro said again, watching her worriedly as she appeared to carry out her earlier threat. "Nami!"

"I told you Zoro, I paid for them, so they're mine," Nami plainly told him as he scurried after her.

"Nami, you do realise there are marines on this island?" Zoro asked her, fidgeting nervously as he watched his swords bounce about as she walked.

"I don't care Zoro," Nami snootily replied. "The amount of money you owe me now is ridiculous! Start paying it back, or I keep the swords!"

"You'll change your mind when the marines attack us!" Zoro growled at her moodily.

"I will not. You want these swords you've got to pay for them. What would you have done if I hadn't shown up? You wouldn't have gotten your swords back from that blacksmith, that's for sure!"

Zoro pulled an exasperated face at Nami's back, but she walked on, ignoring his tantrums.

"Women!" he grumbled, marching after her.

Robin drew up alongside him, eying him over with an amused smirk, before quickening her pace and passing Nami. Zoro once more made a silent wish never to have to see the marine girl who looked like Kuina, an idea finally striking him.

"Don't want to get left behind, Nami!" he said, forcing a grin as he jogged ahead of her. "That guy Smokey's here!"

"Smokey?" Nami repeated, hoisting Zoro's swords up higher and attempting to move faster. "Damn these things are heavy!"

"Then let me carry them for you!" Zoro offered.

"No way!" Nami snapped.

"Over here gorgeous, I'll carry those for you!" Sanji offered, sidling up to Nami.

"Thanks Sanji!" Nami said sweetly, handing Zoro's swords to the chef.

"Damn it!" Zoro cursed, growling at Nami as she skipped past him. "Gimme back my swords, love rat!" he snapped at Sanji.

"Beg me for them, Marimo," Sanji replied, grinning at him.

"Damn it!"

Zoro contemplated just grabbing his swords from Sanji, or at least punching the chef in the head and taking them back by force; but the sound of urgent voices shouting behind them warned him that they had been spotted.

"Move it shit-head, the marines are onto us!" he warned Sanji, before breaking into a run.

Sanji balanced the swords over one shoulder and ran after him, both men shortly reaching the Going Merry.

"Hurry up and get on board!" Nami yelled down to them.

Zoro began to scale the rope ladder at the side of their faithful ship, yelping as he saw his swords fly past him and land with a clatter on the deck.

"Hey!" he yelled, looking down between his legs as Sanji began to climb up behind him. "I ought to kick you in the head for that!"

"Bring it on," Sanji replied, smiling at him.

"Bastard!" Zoro grumbled, again silently reminding himself that they had no time for fighting amongst themselves.

Leaping onto the deck and dashing to raise the anchor, Zoro tried to keep an eye on his swords, hoping to reclaim them once they had set sail.

"Hey, check it out, that pretty lady is following us again!" Sanji called out.

Zoro turned his head to see Sanji holding a set of Usopp's binoculars, looking back towards the shore.

"Why aren't you helping us here?" Zoro yelled at him angrily.

"What pretty lady?" Usopp asked, focussing his goggles as he followed Sanji's line of sight.

"That pretty marine lady, the one that bastard Zoro was upsetting back in Loguetown!" Sanji replied.

"Oh, you mean Smokey's girlfriend?" Luffy asked, fixing the sails into place.

"She's not Smokey's girlfriend!" Zoro snapped.

"She's not?" Luffy asked, scratching his head curiously.

"Who the hell cares, the marines are back at their ship, and they have a lot more fire-power than us, we have to get the hell out of here, and now!" Nami yelled at them all. "Less talk, more action!"

"Who died and made you captain?" Zoro snapped at her.

"No-one, but there's a storm approaching, we don't have time to waste!" Nami snapped back. "If we don't get out of here now, we never will!"

"There's no storm," Zoro grumbled.

"There must be Zoro, Nami's never wrong!" Luffy corrected him.

Zoro contained the urge to tell Luffy exactly what he thought of Nami right then, securing the anchor and gladly turning to collect his swords.

"Oi, no way!" Nami yelled at him, spotting him before he reached his target. "Sanji, stop him!"

"She sure is pretty, Zoro!" Sanji said with a sigh, his eyes still pressed to the binoculars.

With a grin of delight that Sanji's womanising had finally proved advantageous, Zoro grabbed up his swords, laughing at Nami as he replaced them to their rightful place at his hip.

"What did you do to that nice lady, Zoro?" Sanji asked, turning his head a little to look at Zoro.

Zoro baulked as he saw the angle Sanji was holding the binoculars at, following the line they pointed in, crying out as he saw the fully loaded marine ship leaving the bay.

"They're following us, should we open fire?" he asked anyone who cared to listen.

"No," Nami called back. "They're too far behind us, we're faster than they are. Once we get away from the island, we'll start to lose them again."

"She's such a pretty girl, Marimo!" Sanji said again.

"Shut-up you moron!" Zoro snapped, snatching the binoculars from Sanji.

Sanji quirked an amused eyebrow at Zoro, eying him over slowly.

"I see. It's like that huh?" he said quietly.

Zoro pulled a face at Sanji, pretending to be ignorant of his true meaning. Zoro could tolerate and ignore Sanji speaking about any other woman in such a way, but not Kuina.

'She's not Kuina,' Zoro told himself silently. 'She just looks really, really like her.'

"Let's just get the hell out of here," Zoro growled, thrusting the binoculars into Sanji's gut.

* * *

Tashigi stood quiet and still on the deck of the ship as her fellow officers ran about her, loading the canons and adjusting the sails as they tried to catch up with the much smaller and much quicker little ship the Straw-Hat Pirates sailed on. She was aware that Smoker was pacing about her, but she kept her eyes fixed on the ship ahead of them.

"Sir, a call from Captain Hina for you," a marine announced, saluting Captain Smoker as he spoke.

"Tell her now really isn't a good time," Smoker growled back.

"But Sir, she says it's very important," the marine added.

"I don't care what she says, I'm not about to let Straw-Hat get away from us!" Smoker barked.

"Maybe you should just take the call," Tashigi said suddenly, the words leaving her mouth before she even realised she had been thinking as much.

She hurriedly met Smoker's eyes, feeling as shocked as he looked by her outburst.

"Sir," she added slowly. "It might be important, Sir."

"I don't have anything more to say to her right now," Smoker grumbled.

But, to Tashigi's relief, he started off after the officer who had reported the call.

"Keep an eye on Straw-Hat for me Tashigi, don't let him get away," Smoker called back to her.

Tashigi jumped with a start, shocked to hear that her captain still trusted her with any authority after her recent series of disastrous mishaps. Feeling a boost of confidence from her captain's decision, Tashigi squared her shoulders, walking across the deck to the bow of the ship.

"Sergeant Major, we've got them in our sights!" one of the marines greeted her, offering her a pair of binoculars.

Pushing her glasses up her forehead into her hair, Tashigi took the binoculars, aiming them at the obnoxiously bright ship the Straw-Hat Pirates sailed on. She gasped, yanking the binoculars from her eyes again a second later when she saw a blonde-haired man looking back at her through his own set of binoculars, waving a hand above his head.

"Permission to open fire, Sergeant Major?" the marine asked, saluting Tashigi respectfully.

"Permission granted, officer," Tashigi replied, handing him back his binoculars.

Tashigi turned her back on the pirate ship as she felt the rumble of the canons beneath her feet firing off. She had actually been looking for any signs of that idiot swordsman Roronoa Zoro; but, she told herself, she did not need to see him to know that he would be onboard the ship with the rest of his crew. Feeling the strange drop in the temperature around them, Tashigi began instinctively heading towards her own quarters, intending to collect her coat and gloves.

Leaving her glasses perched at the peak of her forehead as she often did, Tashigi absent-mindedly walked through the bowels of the ship, the rumble of the canons occasionally causing her to stagger a little. Unfortunately, without her glasses, each part of the ship looked pretty much like the last, and Tashigi found herself becoming a little disoriented. She knew she was generally in the right part of the ship, and, upon seeing a door she recognised she pushed it open, stepping into the room.

Tashigi allowed the door to bang shut behind her, inhaling deeply, her senses instantly invaded by the smell of leather, sweat and cigar smoke: this, she thought quietly, was Captain Smoker's room. Tashigi turned on her heel to leave, silently wondering how many times she had done this in the past. Usually it happened during the night, when she had left her room for some reason or another and forgotten to put on her glasses, stumbling back and inevitably barging into Smoker's room as he slept. Usually he woke up to correct her actions as politely as he could under the circumstances, but occasionally she had managed to slip out unnoticed. Opening the door again, Tashigi hesitated in the doorway, the sound of something clattering against the door drawing her eyes downwards.

Tashigi slowly moved her glasses back to their rightful place atop the bridge of her nose, steadying the sign hanging on the outside of Smoker's door.

"Do not disturb," she read aloud.

Tashigi glanced up and down the corridor, deciding that since everyone else was preoccupied with the ongoing pursuit of the Straw-Hat Pirates, she had a few minutes to spare having a quick look around her captain's room. Closing the door carefully, Tashigi was fully aware that what she was doing was very, very wrong: but she had worked with Smoker for so long, and she knew so little about him, all she really wanted was to find something, something small, something that told her just what sort of man he really was.

Hurrying over to Smoker's desk, Tashigi began searching it, finding only copies of wanted posters, a few newspapers and a box of cigars. As the canons continued to bang, Tashigi increasingly felt wrong about what she was doing – but still she could not stop herself. Moving over to his bed she hurriedly slid her hands under the sheets and pillows, clawing around for a letter, a photograph, just something.

Sighing in resignation and ready to give up, Tashigi rose to her feet, scratching the back of her neck as she tried to think of somewhere Captain Smoker might hide something that spoke of who he was. As another round of canon-fire rocked the ship, Tashigi saw something glitter from the corner of her eye, turning her head to see something dangling over the top corner-post of Smoker's bed. Smiling slyly to herself, Tashigi grabbed up the gold chain that hung there, watching the locket at the bottom spin for a moment before steadying it between her fingers.

Tashigi paused, surprised to find something as sentimental as a locket in Captain Smoker's room; she had certainly never seen him wearing it around his neck. Her curiosity peaked to the point that she thought she might die if she did not open the locket up, Tashigi shrugged her shoulders, clicking open the catch. The locket fell open across her palm, the face inside looking back up at her causing her eyes to widen.

"Tashigi, what the hell are you doing in here?"

"Captain Smoker Sir!" Tashigi yelped, dropping the locket in her panic.

Too frightened to turn around, Tashigi could hear by the deep, hurried and ragged breaths Smoker was taking that he was seriously unhappy.

'I've really done it this time!' she thought, cringing in anticipation of the worst.

* * *

"How cruel. Hina's very upset with you."

Smoker sighed, rolling his eyes at the radio.

"What part of "I'm in the middle of a fight with Straw-Hat Luffy" didn't you understand?" he growled into the mouthpiece.

"Hina doesn't like it when you speak to her like that," Hina purred back at him.

"I really don't have time for this right now, we'll talk later," Smoker said, standing abruptly, the continuing sound of canon-fire putting him on edge.

"Hina wants to talk now, Mister Smoker."

Smoker scowled at the radio, silently wondering if the woman knew her timing was always perfectly awful.

"Later, Hina," he said with finality, roughly replacing the mouthpiece and rising to his feet.

"Sir," an officer said politely, opening the door for him.

Smoker nodded his head in acknowledgement, marching out of the room and back through the bowels of the ship. He had hoped that Hina had been calling to tell him something sensible, like perhaps that she and her crew were headed in his direction, and they could help him block the Straw-Hat Pirates' escape route – but apparently she was just hell-bent on tormenting him. Feeling as angered as always after a conversation with Hina – particularly one so pointless and so ill-timed – Smoker was heading back with the hope that his crew had somehow managed to slow the Straw-Hat Pirates down sufficiently for him to get his hands on at least one of them.

On his way back, Smoker passed his own quarters, slowing as he heard a movement in the direction of his room. He stopped a short distance beyond the door, unsure if the sound had been nothing more than an echo. He took a few steps back, thinning his eyes as he sighted the door to his quarters, the sight of the partially open door snapping what little was left of his patience. Someone was in his room?

Smoker marched up to the door, kicking it open, almost choking on his own shock at what he saw: Tashigi was standing by his bed, a familiar-looking locket dangling from her fingers. His stomach twisting as he realised what she held and the significance it had, Smoker gave the only response he felt suitable.

"Tashigi, what the hell are you doing in here?" he yelled at her, almost relieved when she dropped the locket at the sound of his voice.

"Captain Smoker Sir!" she replied, her voice tight, her fear barely contained.

Smoker growled, gripping at the door as he struggled for the words to say next.

"I was just…" Tashigi began, spinning around to face him. "Looking for a coat, Sir…"

Smoker decided to capitalise on her floundering, scowling at her response.

"A coat?" he repeated.

"It's getting colder out there, Sir," she said, slowly walking towards him. "I-I forgot my glasses, I entered the wrong room again–"

"You're wearing your glasses, Tashigi," Smoker pointed out, wondering if she thought he was stupid that such an excuse might work with him.

Tashigi opened her mouth as though to speak, but closed it again. Smoker thinned his eyes at her, slowly folding his arms across his chest and leaning into the doorway, blocking her exit. He had never expected her to invade his privacy, and genuinely wanted to hear her reasoning for her actions.

"Captain Smoker Sir!" a voice called to him from the hallway.

"Just a minute!" Smoker yelled back.

"But Sir, the Straw-Hat Pirates are trying to board our ship!"

"What?" Smoker growled, barely able to believe what he was hearing. "What the hell are they thinking?"

* * *

"This is getting ridiculous!" Nami wailed, grabbing at the railings as the Going Merry was tossed about in the sea, the combination of the cannonballs dropping into the water around them and the mounting crosswinds of the rapidly approaching storm making it almost impossible for them to make any headway.

"We're taking in so much water, we're in serious trouble!" Usopp warned.

"The marines are gaining on us, what gives?" Sanji asked Nami.

"The only direction we're moving right now is down!" Nami replied.

"We have to stop them, if they catch us, they'll take the ship!" Zoro warned, running towards the stern of the ship.

"What are you doing, Marimo?" Sanji yelled after him.

"I'm going to stop them from catching up to us!" Zoro yelled back.

"You're boarding their ship?" Sanji echoed in disbelief.

"Hey, wait for me you guys!" Luffy called, grabbing his arms out to either side of the ship and running backwards, stretching his arms out.

"Oh shit…" Sanji muttered, his eyes widening.

Zoro had a feeling he knew what was coming, and he had been relying on it to bridge the distance between the Going Merry and the marine ship. He still always felt being flung through the air by a human catapult was seriously undignified and carried a high risk of injury, but he was not about to let the marines take their ship, and so he did little more than tense himself as Luffy and Sanji smacked into him, sending him flying off the deck and across the water.

"Does he ever aim this thing?" Sanji yelled to him.

"Probably not!" Zoro replied, before all three smacked into the front sail of the marine ship.

Deciding not to waste any time, Zoro swiped out a sword, stabbing it into the sail and allowing it to tear the sail in half as he slid to the ground.

"So what's your plan, Zoro?" Sanji asked him as he landed.

"Throw them overboard," Zoro replied. "We don't need to draw any more attention to ourselves by getting into any complicated fights, just stop them from following us."

"Sure thing!" Luffy said cheerfully, thrusting forwards with his bazooka attack, sending five marines flying out to sea.

"And make sure you throw Smokey in the water," Zoro added.

"But why Zoro?" Luffy asked. "He can't swim."

"That's exactly why, you idiot!" Zoro snapped impatiently, swinging his sword around against a gun aimed at the back of his head.

"If we take Smokey out, these marines will have to stop," Sanji pointed out. "Just don't hurt that beautiful lady, Zoro!"

Zoro growled, resisting the temptation to run one of his blades through Sanji. It was still just a little too surreal for Zoro to have to listen Sanji talk about Kuina that way; and, just to make his agonies all the worse, the girl in question had just appeared in his sights, still wearing that skimpy little vest despite the fact that it was starting to rain, her hands clutched around her sword, and she appeared to be heading straight for him.

"Leave him to me!" she yelled at the other marines.

Zoro watched bemusedly as the others obediently backed off: either this girl had some degree of authority, or she really was Smokey's girl, and defying her was as good as defying Smokey himself.

"And this time, you can't run away from me, Roronoa Zoro!" she warned, stepping up to face Zoro.

At the sound of his captain screaming, Zoro took a quick glance around himself, the idea that attacking the marine ship had perhaps been the wrong thing to do slowly dawning upon him. Luffy was in Smokey's clutches, Sanji was surrounded by marines and dangerously close to the railings of the ship, and it looked as though the rest of their crew had managed to get things under control back on the Going Merry, as the ship was slowly moving away from them.

"Damn it," Zoro cursed, catching the marine girl's sword against his own as she took a shot at him.

Zoro went through the motions of fending her off, watching her curiously as her eyes dropped continually to something at his side. Zoro eventually realised that she had her eye on his Wado Ichimonji – apparently the girl had a one-track mind. Grinning at the prospect of finding a way to get rid of her, Zoro held her back with one hand, drawing the famous sword with his free hand. She lifted her eyes to his, and he smirked at her, a little startled to see her do the same in return. Zoro was so shocked by what she did next he could not react quickly enough to stop her. She reached forwards and grabbed his remaining sword, pulling it from its sheath and wielding it as her own.

"You idiot!" he eventually managed to say. "Do you know what that is?"

"This?" she asked, raising the sword a little higher. "This is the Kitetsu, the sword I helped you buy!"

"You didn't help me buy it, I chose it, I overcame the curse, and the old man gave me it for free!" Zoro snapped back. "You're not strong enough to carry a sword like that, give it back!"

"Ha! I knew it!" she declared, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. "You don't think I'm strong enough to be a swordsman because I'm a woman!"

"I never said that!" Zoro yelled back. "I just said you shouldn't mess with my Kitetsu! It's cursed, remember?"

"It hasn't brought you any bad luck," the girl smartly replied.

"Well it's about bring you some!" Zoro growled, raising his two remaining swords.

He slowly eyed the girl over, her stance as she carried a sword in each hand registering a place in his mind.

"Do you even know how to use two swords?" he asked her quietly.

"I'll learn!" she stubbornly replied.

Zoro cast her a withering look, but the girl had lost none of her determination, still wearing that ever-ready and ambitious look he remembered only too well in Kuina. Zoro decided that the only way she would learn to stop was if he beat her again.

"You want me to fight you seriously?" he asked her. "Fine then!"

She yelped as all four swords clashed together, and Zoro realised then that she was even more out of her depth than he had suspected her to be. Of course, he thought dryly, he had to stop thinking of this woman as Kuina. Unlike Kuina, this woman was easily defeated. As Zoro continued to attack her, he found she was able to do little more then defend herself, backing away from him with every blow. She faltered as her back hit the railings of the ship, and Zoro quickly capitalised on the moment, swinging his arms outwards, knocking both swords from each of her hands.

As the two swords clattered along the surface of the deck, Zoro saw the girl finally show her fear, a look she had only allowed around him once before – when he had defeated her after their first confrontation in Loguetown. Zoro still could not hurt her, but he did arrive at what he thought was a clever idea to keep her away from him at least until he had returned to his own ship and made his escape. Zoro slowly brought the Wado Ichimonji around, hooking the tip of the blade under one of the legs of her glasses. He saw her freeze at his actions, her body becoming so rigid and motionless she almost looked like a statue. Zoro flicked the blade back towards himself, tearing her glasses from her face, pulling her hair over her eyes with his actions.

"This ought to slow you down," he said, lifting her glasses from his sword and crushing them in his fist.

"How cruel!" she gasped, as she watched his actions helplessly. "How could you do that to me?"

Zoro threw the crushed remains of her glasses over his shoulder, returning his swords to his sides and starting in the direction of his Kitetsu.

"Sanji!" he heard Luffy calling.

Zoro turned to see Luffy floating high above the deck, his body wrapped in grey smoke, but his eyes looking not at his attacker, but rather down over the side of the ship.

"Zoro!" he called out. "Sanji fell overboard!"

"What?" Zoro echoed, hurriedly retrieving his sword. "Useless cook, can't take him anywhere…" he grumbled, marching over to the side of the ship Luffy appeared to be looking.

Zoro leaned over the railings, looking about for any traces of the chef's blonde hair against the dark waters. The storm was starting to become a problem, the rain beating down on them, the sky darkening and the wind picking up momentum. Zoro was a strong swimmer, but even he had his doubts about jumping into the water in such conditions. The fact that he could not see Sanji anywhere at the surface brought forth the idea that perhaps Sanji had sunk or was stuck under the ship.

"Great…" Zoro growled, grinding his teeth impatiently.

"Hey Smokey, over here!" he heard Sanji yell.

Spinning around, Zoro watched with wide eyes as a drenched Sanji appeared at the marine captain's side, a large bucket in his hands. The captain turned to Sanji but Sanji had already flung the contents of the bucket forwards. Zoro winced as a wall of seawater and a small collection of seaweed slapped into the captain, who could do not little more than close his eyes against the assault. Sanji turned to Zoro, grinning and giving him a thumbs-up.

Zoro sighed, wondering when Sanji was going to realise that his actions, whilst clever, would not be enough to stop a man like Smokey. But, to Zoro's surprise, the smoke clouds around Luffy began to thin, and their captain came crashing back to the deck. Zoro turned back to Smokey, watching him slowly pull the seaweed from his hair, the telltale signs of exhaustion tugging at his features as he tried to rid himself of as much of the seaweed as possible.

"Quick, push him overboard!" Zoro yelled to Sanji.

"No, he'll drown!" Luffy protested. "He can't swim, remember? He'll sink to the bottom of the ocean and drown!"

"Exactly!" Zoro and Sanji said in unison.

"No!" Luffy insisted. "Come on, let's get back to our ship before it gets too far away!"

"Right," Sanji agreed.

Luffy began stretching himself back to catapult the three of them back to the Going Merry. Sanji and Zoro reluctantly stepped into his line of fire, bracing themselves for disaster. As Luffy launched himself, Zoro felt something at his feet, looking down with alarm to see smoke gathering around one of his ankles.

"Damn it!" he yelled as his foot was pulled out from under him.

Zoro fell hard, landing face-first on the deck. He looked up in time to see Luffy and Sanji fly over his head, the sound of them calling his name fading as they flew back across the water. Zoro watched them go before rounding on Smokey, finding him standing with one hand on the railings, a large string of seaweed draped across his chest. He was breathing heavily and in a prone position, and Zoro knew he would probably never catch the marine captain at such a weak point again, and so decided that he had to take advantage of the situation. Scrambling to his feet, Zoro charged at the captain, intending to gore him, sending them both off the edge. Once they were in the water, Zoro would easily make his escape by swimming back towards the Going Merry, whilst Smokey would just sink, in the same way he had done right before Luffy had insisted that Zoro rescue the old man back in Arabasta.

Zoro aimed his shoulder at the captain, shocked when the captain came back at him with a sharp kick to the chest, sending him staggering back. As Zoro regained his balance he saw the captain lunge at him, unable to avoid the punch the captain landed on his jaw.

"Ow!" Zoro groaned, rubbing at his jaw.

'Damn, he didn't even use his Devil Fruit powers to do that!' Zoro thought desperately.

"Still got some fight in you, huh?" Zoro came back, forcing a smile as he tried to keep his confidence.

"The rest of your crew might have gotten away, but you won't," the captain growled back, grabbing a large hand around Zoro's throat and slamming him against the railings.

Zoro grabbed at the captain's hand, bending backwards over the railings as the captain began to lean his weight on his hold. With the rain and spilled seawater, the deck was slippery beneath Zoro's feet, and as he began to lose his footing, he found the balance of his own bodyweight being tipped over the wrong side of the railings.

"No!" a voice cried out.

Zoro watched in amazement as Smokey stopped, his expression changing.

"No, please don't do it!"

Smokey leaned back a little, the lessening in pressure allowing Zoro to plant his feet back on the deck and straighten a little, peering over the captain's forearm to see the marine girl on her knees in the middle of the deck, her hands clasped together. Her face was wet, and Zoro could not be sure from the angle he was watching her from if it was because of the rain or if she was crying.

"Please don't throw him over, please!" she wailed.

"What?" Zoro grunted in disbelief.

Smokey growled, rounding on Zoro and tugging him upwards to stand in front of him.

"What did you do to her, pirate?" he growled, thinning his eyes at Zoro.

"Nothing!" Zoro argued back.

"Please, I'll do anything you ask, just please don't throw him over!" the girl pleaded. "Please, I'll leave the marines, anything, just don't do it! Throw me over instead if you must!"

Smokey's eyes grew suddenly huge as he glowered at Zoro, and Zoro could have sworn that he heard a vein pop somewhere in the man's face. Zoro shrugged his shoulders helplessly, hoping that the marine would get the message that he was just as confused about why the girl sought to save his life.

"She knows I could never refuse her anything," he said softly, opening his fist and releasing Zoro.

Zoro rubbed at his neck with a sigh of relief, eying the captain warily as the girl pressed her face to the deck and began profusely confessing her gratitude. Smokey sighed, rubbing at his temples, his eyes falling to the large strand of seaweed still plastered against his chest. Zoro cleared his throat, feeling suddenly very awkward, and wondering if he ought to just jump overboard anyway and take his chances in the water.

"Zoro!"

Zoro broke into a huge grin at the sound of his captain's voice, never having felt so relieved to see the rubber idiot flying through the air towards him. Luffy, as was often the case when he threw himself great distances, missed his intended mark of the sails, colliding with the main mast of the ship, creating several cracks in it.

"Uh… Oh…" Luffy muttered as he slid to the ground, watching the mast bend and sway in the mounting winds.

"Quick Luffy, if that mast falls, the whole ship will break in two!" Zoro yelled, rushing over to his captain.

"Right!" Luffy said, stretching his arms out to the bow of the ship to create another catapult.

Zoro stepped in front of him, tensing himself in preparation of what was to come next.

"You're alright!" the marine girl said, standing up next to him.

Zoro yelped as the stupid girl flung her arms around him, her grip becoming much tighter and her screams shattering into his ear as Luffy collided with them both, sending all three of them flying off the deck of the marine ship. Zoro heard Smokey yelling something after them, but his voice dissolved in the wind, and seconds later they had hit the sail of the Going Merry, and were sliding down to the deck.

Zoro froze where he landed, finding himself laying flat on his back, his captain at his side and the marine girl draped across his chest.

"Wow Zoro, did you find me a musician?" Luffy asked, sitting up.

The girl pushed herself up at the sound of Luffy's voice, squinting at him, leaning towards him. Zoro tried to crawl out from under her, but his actions drew her attention to him. She beamed down at him, touching her hands to his face, causing him to jerk back in surprise, banging his head hard against the wooden deck of the ship.

"You're alright!" she said softly. "I was so worried about you! I thought that scoundrel was going to throw you overboard and you would drown! I would have jumped in after you, Sir!"

Zoro frowned at her, suddenly regretting having crushed her glasses.

"Wow Zoro, she really likes you, huh?" Luffy said, grinning cheerfully.

"Straw-Hat?" the girl said curiously, leaning towards Luffy again and squinting at him.

"My name's Luffy!" he replied, waving at her. "I remember you, you helped me find Crocodile!"

"She can't see you," Zoro hissed.

The girl gasped at the sound of Zoro's voice, turning her attention back to him. She leaned over him squinting down at him for a moment, before screaming and leaping to her feet.

"Roronoa Zoro!" she wailed.

"Who did you think I was, you stupid girl?" Zoro yelled back at her.

"But…" she began, looking about herself desperately. "But where's Captain Smoker?"

"Best guess is he's back on your ship," Zoro sarcastically replied, standing up and straightening his clothing.

"My ship?" the girl wailed. "But if I'm not on my ship, then where am I?"

"You're on my ship!" Luffy cheerfully told her. "The Going Merry? Would you like to join our crew?"

The girl turned to glare at him with wide eyes, before slowly scanning around the others, her eyes passing over Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Robin and finally Chopper, who was hiding from her behind a barrel. Seeing the desperation in her face, Zoro grabbed Usopp's binoculars, yanking them up over his head, ignoring the cry of protest he made.

"Over there," he suggested, handing the girl the binoculars and pointing back at her ship.

She hurriedly lifted the binoculars to her eyes, refocusing them on the ship. Zoro and the others all tensed as they saw the marine ship break apart and crash into the sea, turning into nothing more than an array of driftwood in a matter of minutes. Zoro turned back to the girl, who had turned impossibly pale. The binoculars slipped from her hands and her eyes began to cloud over. Zoro hurriedly stepped forwards, catching her as she collapsed in a weak faint.

"Damn it…" he grumbled, looking her over. "How cruel can you be to me, fate? This is the last thing we need right now!"

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Um… Basically, it's the fight on the marine boat again, but told from Tashigi's point of view and then through Smoker's eyes, filling in the gaps. **Chapter 6 – What Did You See?**


	6. What Did You See?

**Recap:** Luffy, Zoro and Sanji boarded the marine ship to stop Smoker and Tashigi following them but as they returned to the Going Merry, Tashigi got "into the line of fire" and was taken back with them.

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – What Did You See?**

'I've really done it this time!' Tashigi thought, cringing in anticipation of the worst.

Behind her, she heard Captain Smoker growling, his anger obviously bubbling just below the surface. She knew she should not have been doing what she had, but a small part of her felt glad that she had, because finally she knew something personal about Captain Smoker. Finally she knew that the rumours she had heard about him were in fact true: because the locket had contained a picture of Captain Hina. The other marines had all told tales of how Smoker and Hina were an item and that they had been so since their days as trainees in the marines, but because of their jobs, they spent little time together. Tashigi could not deny that the two captains did communicate a lot and Hina's crew had often visited Loguetown, even though it was usually out of her way. Tashigi had never thought of their relationship as being anything other than the typical camaraderie between two senior officers – just an association, like the relationship she herself had with Captain Smoker – but apparently she was wrong.

"I was just…" Tashigi began, spinning around to face him. "Looking for a coat, Sir…"

It was the truth, after all. It was cold, and she had been on her way to collect her coat and gloves, and stumbling into Smoker's room had been purely accidental on her part – at least initially. Apparently though, Smoker was not going to be fooled so easily, screwing up his face into a vicious scowl at her words.

"A coat?" he repeated gruffly.

"It's getting colder out there, Sir," she said, slowly walking towards him, hoping to negotiate a way out of the room and away from him. "I-I forgot my glasses, I entered the wrong room again–"

"You're wearing your glasses, Tashigi," Smoker interrupted her.

Tashigi opened her mouth to argue that, in fact, she had not been wearing them a moment ago, but since her only excuse for wearing them since was that she had needed them to invade her captain's privacy, she decided not to bother with that line. Smoker thinned his eyes at her, slowly folding his arms across his chest and leaning into the doorway, blocking her exit. His actions were slow and deliberate, and Tashigi began to fear that she might be about to suffer the nastier side of Smoker's famous ill temper.

"Captain Smoker Sir!" a voice called to him from the hallway.

Tashigi quietly sighed in relief, the memory of their pursuit of the Straw-Hat Pirates telling her that Smoker did not have the time to do anything untoward at that particular moment.

"Just a minute!" Smoker yelled back.

"But Sir, the Straw-Hat Pirates are trying to board our ship!" the marine called back.

"What?" Smoker growled. "What the hell are they thinking?"

Smoker growled, punching a fist into the doorway and cracking the wood, causing Tashigi to jump in fear.

"I'll deal with you later, little lady!" he warned, jabbing a finger at the end of her nose.

"Don't call me that!" Tashigi snapped irritably, marching after him as he began jogging back up to the deck of the ship.

Tashigi was certain Smoker had deliberately called her "little lady" because he knew that it infuriated her, and it was the only way he could make her as angry as he was in such a short space of time. Back on the deck and still without her coat or gloves, Tashigi was horrified to find that the sky had gone dark, it was raining and a wind was whipping at her hair. And, just to make matters even worse, Straw-Hat, Zoro and another one of their crew were onboard the marine ship. Angrily drawing out her Shigure, Tashigi readied herself to finish Zoro off once and for all, running in his direction, the sight of other marines confronting him only angering her further.

"Leave him to me!" she yelled at the others, waving a hand at them to step aside.

The others backed off at the sound of her voice, bowing out of her way until she was alone with Zoro, who was standing looking at her with a look that suggested he found something about her both disgusting and mildly amusing.

"And this time, you can't run away from me, Roronoa Zoro!" she warned, stepping closer to him.

Instead of taking her threat seriously as he ought to have done, Zoro began looking about himself, apparently more interested in watching his crewmates than worrying about Tashigi. Gripping into her sword until her fingers started to ache, Tashigi swung her sword at Zoro's neck as though to behead him, deciding that such an action ought to get his attention. To her chagrin, Zoro effortlessly lifted his own sword with one hand, catching her blade and holding her back before even moving his eyes back to her. She heard him curse, but he appeared not to be concerned by her attack. Determined to show him how serious she was, Tashigi began attacking him relentlessly, her arms quickly hurting from the force of her blows and strength with which she was gripping into her sword. She knew she was wasting too much energy, letting her emotions rule her again, but she was determined to teach this ignorant pirate a lesson.

As she fought him, Tashigi continually stole glances at the precious Wado Ichimonji at his side, silently wondering how a fiend like him had managed to get his hands on such a priceless and beautiful artefact. To her horror, Zoro began to grin at her, holding her back with one hand as he drew out the sword she had her eyes fixed on, turning it on her. He smirked at her, obviously hoping to cause her pain with his actions; but Tashigi was no longer thinking like a marine – after all, Smoker had taught her that sometimes, to enforce justice, she had to step outside the realms of the marine laws. Smirking back at the pirate, she lunged forwards and grabbed his third sword, pulling it out to even the score between them.

"You idiot!" he said to her, his smirk vanishing. "Do you know what that is?"

"This?" she asked, raising the sword a little higher. "This is the Kitetsu, the sword I helped you buy!"

"You didn't help me buy it, I chose it, I overcame the curse, and the old man gave me it for free!" Zoro snapped back. "You're not strong enough to carry a sword like that, give it back!"

"Ha! I knew it!" she declared, feeling a little delirious. "You don't think I'm strong enough to be a swordsman because I'm a woman!"

"I never said that!" Zoro yelled back. "I just said you shouldn't mess with my Kitetsu! It's cursed, remember?"

"It hasn't brought you any bad luck," Tashigi smugly pointed out.

"Well it's about bring you some!" Zoro growled, raising his two remaining swords.

Tashigi saw Zoro run his eyes over her sceptically. She had tired herself out by fighting recklessly, and the Kitetsu was considerably heavier than her own trusted Shigure. Carrying two swords was something she had only tried a few times in the past, and she had always found it too difficult to concentrate on what both hands were doing, much less put enough power behind each weapon to make wielding two swords an effective move. And, she thought bitterly, unlike Zoro, she was not ambidextrous.

"Do you even know how to use two swords?" he asked her quietly.

"I'll learn!" she stubbornly replied, deciding there was no point in denying her inabilities, since they would be plainly obvious, especially to an expert swordsman like Zoro.

"You want me to fight you seriously?" he asked her. "Fine then!"

Tashigi yelped as Zoro slammed his swords against both of hers at once, her arms buckling under the force of what he made look like an easy, sweeping motion. Trying to stay focused, Tashigi began to fear for her safety as Zoro slowly and methodically swung his blades at her, moving much slower than she had seen him do against other foes. He was deliberately going easy on her, which only made her feel even more ashamed of her own shortcomings. Staggering helplessly back under his immense strength, Tashigi cried out pitifully as her back hit the railings, the realisation that she was trapped causing her to panic. In her moment of confusion, she saw Zoro's two blades come straight towards her face, swinging outwards at the last possible second. As Zoro hit the swords in each of her hands, Tashigi's arms were thrust apart, and her hands opened against her will, both her own sword and Zoro's flying from her grasp and bouncing along the deck of the ship.

Tashigi stared up at Zoro fearfully, feeling certain that he would kill her this time. She stiffened as he brought around the Wado Ichimonji, the beautiful sword he had no right to own, pointing the tip at her face. She began to fear that he was going to opt for disfiguring her as opposed to killing her, a truly evil, pirate thing to do; but instead he hooked her glasses with the blade, pulling them from her face. She blinked through the blur of her poor eyesight in the absence of her glasses, straining and squinting to focus on Zoro's blurry outline before her.

"This ought to slow you down," he said to her.

Despite not being able to see clearly what was happening, Tashigi clearly heard her glasses snapping and cracking, and she could see Zoro closing his fist.

"How cruel!" she gasped, as she watched his actions helplessly. "How could you do that to me?"

Zoro threw the crushed remains of her glasses over his shoulder, returning his swords to his sides and starting in the direction of his Kitetsu, apparently not caring that he had just left her all but blind.

"Damn it!" she groaned, dropping to her knees and feeling about for the remains of her glasses.

Maybe, she thought to herself, just maybe her glasses would still be useful if she could find them. And of course, she would have to get her Shigure back. Crawling about across the deck, Tashigi tried to block out the voices around her, feeling confident that Captain Smoker could handle the Straw-Hat Pirates until she had sorted herself out. She eventually located her glasses, finding one leg hanging loosely from them, the other bent upwards. She lifted the frames over her eyes, finding that one lens had been knocked clean out, the other reduced to nothing more than a few broken shards that threatened to stab out her eye. Dropping them to the deck with a sigh, Tashigi spotted something green and white, smiling in relief that she at least still had her Shigure.

Tashigi scrambled across the slippery boards of the deck, grabbing at her Shigure and hurriedly slipping it through her belt before turning in the direction of her captain's voice, squinting around the rain at the two figures standing by the railing of the ship. She gasped in alarm as she saw the blurred outline of one shirtless man leaning over another, in the process of pushing him overboard. Tashigi was too far away to make out their features clearly, but she could see that both men had green hair, their colourings looking too similar since they were both wet from the rain. She could not tell which was Zoro and which was her captain; but as she crawled along the deck, she saw them from another angle, and clearly saw the large scar down the chest of the aggressor. This, she concluded, was Zoro. She had noticed the scar on his chest before: it was a large, thick and vicious laceration that ran diagonally across his chest, and looked to be from a sword-fight. The first time Tashigi had fought Zoro his white shirt had been soaked with rainwater and clinging to his skin, making every detail of the scar quite clearly visible.

And, she thought in a blind panic, Zoro was about to push Captain Smoker overboard, into the water, where he knew he would sink to his death. Tashigi gasped as she saw one of Smoker's feet slip on the deck, his body bend further over the railings. Hoping that Zoro had a shred of honour and integrity, she cried out in a desperate attempt to spare her captain's life.

"No!" she yelled.

To her relief, both men went still, but, from what little she could make out, Zoro was still holding Smoker over the edge.

"No, please don't do it!" she cried.

Zoro straightened a little, and Tashigi saw Smoker attempt to push back up against him. She clasped her hands together, bowing her head as she fought off tears.

"Please don't throw him over, please!" she begged.

'If anything happens to Captain Smoker, it will be all my fault for not being able to help him,' she told herself darkly.

"Please, I'll do anything you ask, just please don't throw him over!" she added, tears slipping from her eyes despite her best efforts to remain stoic. "Please, I'll leave the marines, anything, just don't do it! Throw me over instead if you must!"

Tashigi peeked through her hair, watching in relief as Zoro released Smoker, both men standing firmly on the deck. She collapsed to the deck in her relief, almost wanting to laugh.

"Oh thank you!" she sobbed. "Thank you so much! You truly are a man of honour! Thank you for sparing him!"

Clenching her fists until her fingernails bit into the skin of her palms, Tashigi allowed herself to smile into the deck, waiting until the tears had subsided before lifting her head, finding Smoker standing a short distance from her.

"You're alright!" she blurted out, leaping up and running over to him.

Unable to contain her relief, Tashigi threw her arms around his shoulders. She barely had time to worry what her commanding officer might think about such a blatant display of emotion when suddenly something collided with the two of them from one side. Tashigi found herself clinging to her captain for dear live as her feet left the ground, and they were thrust forcefully through the air. Although the experience was terrifying for her, it ended just as suddenly as it had begun, as Tashigi collided with a stiff sheet, sliding over it and landing hard against another body.

"Wow Zoro, did you find me a musician?" she heard a familiar voice say.

Pushing herself up, Tashigi squinted at the person sat next to her, a wave of nausea washing over her as the shape of a straw-hat began to come into focus, framed around a grinning face decorated with wild strands of black hair. Just as she began to fear the worst, Tashigi felt a movement at her hip, and she looked down to see Smoker lying beneath her, flat on his back. She smiled at him in relief, taking his face in her hands.

"You're alright!" she said softly. "I was so worried about you! I thought that scoundrel was going to throw you overboard and you would drown! I would have jumped in after you, Sir!"

"Wow Zoro, she really likes you, huh?" the familiar voice said again, suddenly registering in Tashigi's mind.

"Straw-Hat?" she asked cautiously, leaning towards the grinning face again.

"My name's Luffy!" he replied, waving at her. "I remember you, you helped me find Crocodile!"

"She can't see you," Tashigi heard Zoro's voice say quietly.

Gasping in alarm, Tashigi looked down at the man beneath her, the apparent source of Zoro's voice. Leaning over him and squinting hard, every detail of his face came clearly into focus at last, the sight of Roronoa Zoro staring up at her causing Tashigi to scream and leap away from him.

"Roronoa Zoro!" she wailed.

"Who did you think I was, you stupid girl?" Zoro yelled back at her.

"But…" she began, looking about herself desperately. "But where's Captain Smoker?"

"Best guess is he's back on your ship," Zoro sarcastically replied, standing up and straightening his clothing.

"My ship?" Tashigi cried. "But if I'm not on my ship, then where am I?"

"You're on my ship!" Straw-Hat cheerfully told her. "The Going Merry? Would you like to join our crew?"

Tashigi turned to glare at him with wide eyes, wondering if he even knew that he was a wanted criminal and she an officer of the law hunting him down to have asked such a ridiculous question of her. Turning her head slowly, Tashigi scanned over the other faces watching her, finding every single member of the small crew of Straw-Hat Pirates: the blonde-haired man, the orange-haired girl and the long-nosed boy. But, to her alarm, also onboard with the pirates was none other than Nico Robin, one of the most wanted criminals of the sea, and the same woman who had almost broken Tashigi's leg back in Arabasta. And, hiding behind a barrel, a strange little furry creature was watching her intently.

Unsure if she should scream, cry or simply start brandishing her Shigure at the pirates, Tashigi finally turned her attention back to Zoro as he spoke to her again.

"Over there," he said, handing her a pair of binoculars and pointing back over his shoulder.

Tashigi hurriedly lifted the binoculars to her eyes, refocusing them on the only other visible object in the water. She quickly recognised it as the ship she and Captain Smoker had been sailing on; but as she watched, the mast collapsed, shattering the boat, the integrity of the hull destroyed. Tashigi began to shake, the image of the ship disintegrating to nothing more than driftwood leaving her feeling extremely light-headed. She felt the binoculars slip from her fingers, and her eyelids fall shut, everything around her eventually dissolving into a dark silence.

* * *

"But Sir, the Straw-Hat Pirates are trying to board our ship!"

"What?" Smoker growled, barely able to believe what he was hearing. "What the hell are they thinking?"

Smoker hesitated, torn between explaining to Tashigi what she had just seen and capturing the damned Straw-Hat Pirates. Growling in frustration he punched the doorframe, fixing his eyes onto Tashigi.

"I'll deal with you later, little lady!" he told her, deliberately calling her a name he knew would anger her.

"Don't call me that!" she snapped back, hurrying after him as he turned his back on her and followed the others out to the deck of the ship.

He was furious that Tashigi had entered his room to snoop around his personal belongings, especially at such an inopportune moment. She ought to have been focused on the Straw-Hat Pirates, but instead she was fishing through her captain's private quarters – and for what? The girl never expressed any interest in discussing anything outside of work, why was she suddenly so curious about his private life?

Spotting the irksome Straw-Hat himself, Smoker wasted no time in going after him, gladly taking out his anger on the scrawny boy of a pirate. Beating into him relentlessly, Smoker could still remember the arrogance of the boy back in Arabasta. As if it had not been shameful enough that the pirate Roronoa Zoro had saved his life, but this kid had then told him, the marine captain who intended to have him executed, that he actually quite liked him. Smoker did not know if Straw-Hat Luffy was an idiot, or simply too confident to make such a remark.

"You won't like me by the time I'm through with you, Straw-Hat!" he growled.

After a short while, Smoker began to notice that Luffy was no longer looking at him, but instead appeared to be preoccupied by something off the side of the ship.

"Sanji?" Luffy called out. "Sanji!"

"Sanji?" Smoker muttered.

"Zoro!" Luffy called out. "Sanji fell overboard!"

Smoker shrugged his shoulders feeling satisfied that at least his crew had managed to dispose of one of the Straw-Hat Pirates successfully. However, Smoker's joy was short-lived.

"Hey Smokey, over here!" a voice yelled.

Smoker turned in the direction of the voice, blinking back in shock as a wall of water and seaweed smacked into him hard. He groaned, feeling the draining effects of the seawater and seaweed almost instantly. Blinking through the seaweed hanging over his face, Smoker saw the blonde-haired pirate grin at his handiwork – apparently he had intentionally thrown himself overboard in order to retrieve a bucket of seawater to debilitate him with. With their own captain having all the strengths and weaknesses of someone who had eaten a Devil Fruit, Smoker thought bitterly, these pirates knew all the tricks necessary to get the better of him.

Smoker began tugging the seaweed from his hair, refusing to give into the sudden weight in his limbs and dizziness developing in his head.

"Quick, push him overboard!" he heard Zoro yell.

"No, he'll drown!" Luffy protested. "He can't swim, remember? He'll sink to the bottom of the ocean and drown!"

"Exactly!" the other two yelled back.

"No!" Luffy insisted. "Come on, let's get back to our ship before it gets too far away!"

"Right."

Smoker watched as Luffy began stretching himself back to catapult himself and his men back to their ship. Looking quickly around the ship, Smoker saw Tashigi crawling around and looking defeated. He was vaguely aware that she had confronted Zoro again, his eyes shifting back to the green-haired menace. Using what little strength he had left, Smoker stretched out a trail of smoke, tying up Zoro's ankle and tripping him over. Luffy launched himself and his blonde-haired companion off the ship, but Zoro remained flat on the deck, cursing to himself.

Smoker grabbed a hand at the railings next to him, trying to catch his breath as he released Zoro. He still had a long, thin strand of seaweed draped diagonally across his chest, but he did not want to waste any effort in removing it, as he would need what strength he had left to give Zoro what he deserved. As he had expected, Zoro got up and charged towards him, aiming as though to shove him overboard. Smoker quickly swung a boot at Zoro's chest, kicking him hard where he knew the swordsman had an old injury, catching him with a hard punch to the jaw as he staggered to recover from the initial kick.

"Ow!" Zoro groaned, rubbing at his jaw. "Still got some fight in you, huh?"

Zoro smirked at Smoker confidently, the look on his face only angering Smoker even more.

"The rest of your crew might have gotten away, but you won't," he warned the swordsman, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the railings.

Smoker ignored Zoro's attempts to claw his hand from his throat, leaning his weight onto his hand, forcing Zoro to bend backwards over the railings. Zoro was starting to lose his balance, starting to get a look of panic in his eyes. Although he could probably swim well enough, Smoker knew Zoro would not last long in the waters, as the waves had become wild and unpredictable, and his pirate crew were too far away to save him this time. Grinning at the prospect of finishing the pirate off, Smoker almost did not hear the sound at first.

"No!" a voice cried out.

Smoker's face straightened, his mind reeling at the sound of Tashigi's voice, faint and lilting in the wind.

"No, please don't do it!" she called again.

Smoker leaned back slightly, the lessening in pressure allowing Zoro to plant his feet back on the deck and straighten a little. Turning his head to look back over his shoulder, Smoker saw Tashigi on her knees in the middle of the deck, her hands clasped together. Her face was wet, her hair plastered to her features, and she looked on the point of tears.

"Please don't throw him over, please!" she wailed.

"What?" Zoro grunted.

Smoker growled, yanking Zoro to his feet and leaning over him.

"What did you do to her, pirate?" he growled, thinning his eyes at Zoro.

"Nothing!" Zoro argued back.

"Please, I'll do anything you ask, just please don't throw him over!" Tashigi pleaded. "Please, I'll leave the marines, anything, just don't do it! Throw me over instead if you must!"

Smoker's eyes grew huge at Tashigi's words: his worst fears about her developing feelings for this worthless pirate were true after all. He had never thought he would hear Tashigi offer up her career as a trade for anything, least of all the life of a pathetic pirate. He watched Zoro shrug his shoulders as though what Tashigi had said was not really worth their concern, something inside of him turning suddenly very cold.

"She knows I could never refuse her anything," he said softly, opening his fist and releasing Zoro.

Smoker turned to Tashigi, watching as she broke into a relieved smile before dropping her head to the deck.

"Oh thank you!" she sobbed. "Thank you so much! You truly are a man of honour! Thank you for sparing him!"

"Zoro!" Luffy's voice cried out.

Smoker groaned as he saw the rubber pirate crash into the mast of the ship, silently hoping that the collision had hurt like hell. But, just as the chipper little man appeared to bounce back from everything else, he cheerfully bounced over to Zoro, apparently unaffected, despite the fact that the mast was threatening to collapse.

"Quick Luffy, if that mast falls, the whole ship will break in two!" Zoro yelled, rushing over to his captain.

"Right!" Luffy said, stretching his arms out to the bow of the ship to create another catapult.

Zoro stepped in front of him, and, to Smoker's absolute horror, Tashigi ran over to Zoro, putting her arms around him and hugging onto him tightly as Luffy flung himself at them, sending all three of them flying off the marine ship in the direction of the Straw-Hat Pirates' ship.

"Tashigi, no!" Smoker yelled, running to the bow of the ship to watch her disappear from his sights.

"Sir, the mast, we have to abandon ship immediately!" a marine called over to him.

But Smoker was still staring out to sea, too shocked at what he had just witnessed to even care when the mast fell behind him, shattering the deck of the ship.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Tashigi panics when she finds herself sailing with pirates, Zoro wants her off the ship even though his crew don't seem to agree and Smoker makes a deal with Hina. **Chapter 7 – Misunderstood**.


	7. Misunderstood

**A/N:** Had to do a fact check on this one before posting, and I'm still not sure it's right – oh well! Just a few small pointers to note: I'm taking the assumption in this chapter that Smoker's first name is Chase (which it almost is anyway) and from this point onwards in the story, you will notice some repeated sections contradict each other – this is to show how each character is seeing/hearing things differently and how it causes more problems for them. And finally, I've taken a few liberties with Hina's character, probably making her out of character, but I needed to do this for the next part of the story to work – all will become clear soon.

 **Recap:** After a series of misunderstandings, Tashigi became separated from her crew of marines and ended up on the Going Merry with the Straw-Hat crew.

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – Misunderstood**

"What are you so happy about, shit cook?" Zoro grumbled, scowling at Sanji as he floated about the table, serving the crew their dinners.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Sanji replied with a sigh. "I just feel so lucky to have three beautiful ladies onboard our ship!"

"She's not a beautiful lady, she's a marine!" Zoro snapped.

Zoro turned from Sanji and caught Nami and Robin glowering at him with icy death glares that made him jump in his seat.

"What?" he yelped.

"I see," Nami said stiffly, stabbing her fork forcefully into her fish. "Just because she's strong, she can't be beautiful too."

"Just because she's a marine, she can't be a princess too," Robin added with a sigh, shaking her head at Zoro.

"What?" Zoro said again, turning to the men in the crew in the hope of some support. "This is ridiculous, right?" he asked Luffy and Usopp.

"She sure was funny," Luffy commented through a mouthful of food. "I hope she can sing and play too."

"I bet she won't be as good as me!" Usopp replied.

Zoro growled, gripping onto his knife and fork angrily.

"She can't stay with us!" he pointed out.

"We can't just leave her, she's very ill!" Chopper argued. "She has a fever, and she hasn't woken up since Zoro scared her."

"I didn't scare her!" Zoro said hurriedly.

"Sure you did Marimo," Sanji said, sitting down at the table to join the others. "She took one look at that ugly face of yours, and the poor, beautiful girl passed out."

"She's not a beautiful girl, damn it!" Zoro snarled, banging his fists against the table. "Do you have any idea how much trouble we've made for ourselves taking her onboard this ship?"

"Yeah, I know," Luffy agreed, turning to face Zoro. "Smokey will be furious with you Zoro! That's his girlfriend you've been flirting with! Why did you take her back with us anyway?"

Zoro growled, grinding his teeth and clawing at the air as he tried to contain his frustration.

"We have to take her back to Smokey, that's for sure," Robin announced.

"Absolutely," Nami agreed. "Once she gets better, we'll contact the navy, and leave her on the nearest island."

"Oh no, I think we should take her back to Smokey," Robin replied. "It's our duty. We kidnapped her in the first place, it's the least we could do. He might think we're holding her for a ransom, we really ought to make Zoro take her back and explain to Smokey why he took her in the first place."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Nami said with a smile.

"What?" Zoro hissed.

"She's not going to be our musician?" Luffy asked anyone who cared to listen.

"She won't join us now, Zoro ruined that with his big ugly face," Sanji said.

"She can't join us, she's a marine!" Zoro snapped.

"What do you suppose her name is?" Usopp asked.

"I'm sure it's something beautiful, like Nami, or Robin," Sanji said, smiling sweetly at the ladies at the table.

"She must be really strong," Chopper commented.

"Strong and beautiful," Sanji added.

"I wonder if she really is Smokey's girlfriend?" Nami mused.

"Either way, she certainly doesn't like Mr Swordsman over there," Robin said, smiling playfully at Zoro.

"I wonder if she knows the song about a pirate's life at sea?" Luffy asked.

"Which one, there are hundreds!" Usopp replied.

"I bet she has a beautiful singing voice," Sanji said.

"What the hell is wrong with all of you?" Zoro yelled, rising to his feet abruptly and silencing the kitchen. "We've got a marine onboard our ship, and we are all pirates! Why aren't any of you taking this seriously?"

Zoro looked around the others, who were all regarding him as though he had just sprouted a second head. Sighing in resignation, Zoro grabbed up a bread roll and kicked his chair back, marching out of the room. Just the thought of Kuina being onboard the ship was making him nervous. Not caring for the consequences he would inevitably later face from the other women onboard, Zoro stuffed the bread roll into his mouth and marched straight into the women's quarters, where he found Kuina the marine lying more or less in the same position she had been in the last time he had checked on her.

"Hey," he said, edging closer to her, peering down at her face.

She was lying on her back on a hammock, three sheets laid over her. It looked as though Chopper had been tucking her neatly in to keep her warm, but her right arm had escaped, snaking up over the pillow her head rested on, her fingers rested against the top of her head, which was turned slightly to the left.

"Hey!" Zoro tried again, poking a finger at her bare arm. "Wake up."

She did not so much as stir at his actions, at which Zoro only became more frustrated.

"Hey!" he said more forcefully, prodding her cheek. "Wake up!"

Zoro cleared his throat, replaying Smokey's voice in his head before attempting to mock it.

"Wake up officer!" he barked in his best impersonation of Smokey possible.

"What the hell are you doing Marimo?"

Zoro yelped, leaping back from the girl and turning around to find Sanji standing in the doorway.

"Chopper said to let her rest, so leave her alone, yeah?" he added.

"I can't!" Zoro confessed. "I can't have her on this ship, it's just too much!"

Zoro began looking about for something guaranteed to wake the girl, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully, blocking out Sanji's mutterings behind him.

"What is wrong with you two?" Nami hissed, marching into the room.

"Nami-swan, I was just telling Marimo here to get the hell out of the ladies' room!" Sanji told her.

"You get out of here too!" Nami hissed at him. "And keep your voice down! We're meant to be letting her rest!"

"Nami, she's a marine!" Zoro loudly pointed out.

"Zoro, there's a fine for standing in my room, and unless you want me to add it to what you already owe me, you better get out of here right now!" Nami growled at him.

Zoro took one last look at Kuina, sleeping sweetly in the hammock, looking identical to Kuina in the absence of her glasses and adult body that made her that silly marine girl. He reluctantly left the room, heading straight out onto the deck of the ship, marching over to the stern and finding himself a spot to sit in alone.

"Stupid…" he grumbled, dropping himself down into a sitting position, smacking his back against the railings and folding his arms moodily.

Someone, somewhere, was laughing at him, he decided. As if it had not been bad enough having to meet this strange adult Kuina, he was now being forced to share a ship with her. Zoro suddenly felt claustrophobic, trapped in confined quarters with a strange girl who was a mere shadow of Kuina. He wanted to kill Sanji for talking about her like she was just some pretty girl he could freely fawn over. He wanted to kill Luffy for failing to see the threat carrying this girl posed to their crew. But mostly, Zoro wanted to kill himself for the way he was feeling.

Zoro lived for his swords, and to fulfil his dream of becoming the greatest swordsman. He had spent his entire life up to that point training and fighting, and he had always thought that emotions were something for weedy men like Sanji. Zoro had faced the mighty Mihawk and refused to back down, he had brought several criminals to justice in his days as a pirate hunter, and he had even endured being a prisoner of the navy, surviving starvation and humiliation to come out fighting. But, he thought darkly, this girl, this seemingly insignificant little girl marine, had cut him down where he stood with just one look.

Which, Zoro reasoned, would have been acceptable had she been a striking beauty. But she was nothing of the sort. She was just a blundering, bossy, interfering girl with mediocre sword skills and plain in appearance. She was a clumsy idiot, but that look in her eye, that manner of carrying herself and the logic behind her actions spoke volumes of Kuina, who was nothing short of iconic in Zoro's mind. And this marine girl bore more than just a passing resemblance to Kuina – they were practically identical.

Zoro sighed, getting to his feet again and jogging back down to the women's quarters. He paused outside the door, glancing back and forth to ensure that he had not been spotted before slipping inside the room, creeping over to her bedside to watch her sleep. As his shadow fell over her, Zoro saw the girl's face twitch slightly, a small moan reverberating in her throat.

"Hey, are you awake?" he whispered, reaching a hand towards her.

Zoro leaned closer to her, watching her intently as her eyes slowly opened to thin slits, clouded over with sleep. She blinked several times, her dark eyes slowly brightening. She lifted her eyes to Zoro's face, starting as she met his eyes, the words that left her mouth making Zoro cringe.

"Captain Smoker?" she whispered.

"Uh…" Zoro began weakly, leaning back from her.

"What happened?" she said softly, her voice still thick with sleep. "My head hurts!"

She sat up, the sheets slipping to her waist at which Zoro found his eyes dropping to her chest, his face twitching at what he saw.

"The storm," she said slowly. "And the… Straw-Hat Pirates..."

She suddenly gasped, her eyes growing wide. Zoro winced in anticipation of what was to come next, enjoying the brief moment of peace before her head snapped around and her large, round eyes locked onto him.

"Roronoa Zoro!" she cried. "I'll get you this time!"

Zoro leapt back as the girl pounced out of the hammock, staggering a little as she became tangled in the sheets, hurriedly discarding them before grabbing at the scabbard dangling from her hip. Zoro tilted his head to one side as he wondered just what she intended to do next, pulling a face at her as she grabbed the object lodged through her belt just above the scabbard, flinging it outwards.

"You're mine!" she growled.

Zoro glanced back and forth between the parasol she was pointing at him and the hardened look on the girl's face, silently wondering when she would realise her mistake.

"What are you going to do, slap me to death?" he asked her eventually.

"I'm going to…" she began, waggling the parasol around a little before finally adopting a looking of horrified shock at when she was holding. "My Shigure!"

She grabbed the scabbard at her side, pulling it around and letting out a scream of despair as she found it empty.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Zoro?" Nami yelled, barging into the room. "Oh, hi!"

The marine girl turned to glare at Nami with wide eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Nami asked her.

"Is she awake?" Sanji asked, leaning into the room. "Ah, my lovely, welcome to the Going Merry!"

Sanji sauntered over to the girl, who, to Zoro's utter delight, began whacking him with her parasol, only stopping when the thing broke apart and fell to pieces on the ground.

"Ha ha, she's funny!" Luffy declared, pointing at the girl. "I think she should be the ship's comedian!"

"Straw-Hat?" the girl yelped. "Where the hell am I?"

"You're on our ship!" Luffy told her.

"How did I get here?" she asked suspiciously.

"Zoro took you here," Luffy replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Hey, leave me outta this!" Zoro said hurriedly, shaking his head vigorously as the girl turned her eyes to him.

"Boys, don't crowd the poor girl!" Robin said.

"You!" the marine yelped, pointing a finger at Robin. "You're that lying criminal that tried to break my leg in Arabasta!"

Robin arched her eyebrows, tilting her head to one side as she slowly studied the girl before her.

"Oh, I remember you now…" she said slowly.

"What the hell is going on here?" the marine girl demanded. "Why am I on a pirate ship?"

"Because you grabbed onto me when I was trying to get off of your marine ship!" Zoro told her bluntly.

"What?" she echoed. "I would never do such a thing!"

"You…" Zoro began, letting out a small growl before continuing. "You thought I was that guy Smokey, you couldn't tell us apart without your glasses."

Zoro was relieved to see that his response finally made the girl appear to calm down. She adopted a pensive look, apparently processing everything she had just heard.

"So, what's your name?" Luffy asked her.

"Me?" she asked, turning to Luffy. "Well, I'm just… Just a dog of the navy to you, right?"

"Your name is Dog?" Luffy asked, scratching his head by the rim of his hat.

"No, gee you're stupid!" she replied with a sigh. "My name is Tashigi."

"Tashigi, cool!" Luffy replied. "I'm Luffy, I'm the captain of this crew!"

"I know who you are, Straw-Hat Luffy!"

"Really? Why do you call me "Straw-Hat" Luffy?"

The girl pulled a face at Luffy as the others groaned in despair.

"Oh, it's because of my hat!" Luffy eventually said, laughing. "Anyway, this is my first mate Zoro, this is our marksman Usopp, this is our navigator Nami, our chef Sanji, our doctor Chopper and this is our archaeologist Robin."

"I know who you all are," the girl assured him. "What I would like to know now is where is my ship, where is my crew, and where is Captain Smoker?"

"Captain Smoker?" Sanji blurted, snorting out laughter into his hand.

"What?" Zoro asked, turning to him.

"The guy's name is Smoker?" Sanji asked the girl. "His name is Smoker? He ate a Devil Fruit that allows him to control smoke, he smokes all the time, and his name is Smoker?"

Luffy and Usopp began to laugh as they realised the point Sanji was trying to make.

"His name is Smokey Smoker?" Luffy asked.

"No you idiot!" Nami said, shaking her head at him. "Smokey was just a nickname you gave him!"

"It was?" Luffy asked.

"Yes!" Nami confirmed.

"That's priceless!" Sanji laughed. "Smoker the smoker who smokes! Ha!"

"So we shouldn't call him Smokey any more?" Luffy asked.

"I can think of something you can call him," Zoro said, grinning slyly. "But it doesn't use the word "smoke"."

Sanji laughed, waving a finger at Zoro.

"Does it start with an "F" and end with a "T"?" he asked.

"What?" the marine girl gasped. "How dare you all speak about Captain Smoker that way? Who the hell do you think you are? You're nothing but a band of worthless pirates! Captain Smoker is a hero!"

"He was looking more like a zero the last time I saw him!" Sanji said.

"I ought to cut you down for talking like that, pirate!" the girl growled at him.

"Okay, everyone, we need to devise a plan!" Zoro called out. "We need to arrange getting Natasha here back to Captain Smokey-Smoke."

"My name is Tashigi, you ignorant creep!" the girl snapped at him.

"Whatever," Zoro replied, waving a hand dismissively at her.

"She's not joining our crew?" Luffy asked Zoro.

"No Luffy, she's not joining our crew," Zoro firmly replied.

"Oh well," Luffy said, shrugging his shoulders indifferently. "Good luck getting her back to Smoke-Smoke, Zoro."

"Hey!" Zoro yelped as the others began to leave the room. "Hey, where are you all going?"

"You brought her here Zoro," Luffy called back over his shoulder.

"But…"

Zoro sighed in defeat, before slowly turning back to the girl behind him. What had she said her name was?

"Chopper?" she said quietly, narrowing her eyes as she regarded him.

"What about him?" Zoro asked.

"Luffy said Chopper was your crew's doctor," she said slowly.

"Yes," Zoro said, nodding his head.

"But he's an animal," she pointed out. "A small, fuzzy, bipedal, blue-nosed teddy-bear with antlers."

Zoro rolled his eyes upwards thoughtfully, deciding that she did have a point: Chopper was an odd little creature, especially when introduced as the doctor of a pirate crew.

"Are you hungry?" Zoro asked her, deciding to change the subject in the hope of easing the tension between them.

"Yes, but I'm not eating anything a pirate serves me!" she coldly replied, raising her chin defiantly.

"It's alright, the chef won't serve you something shit, you're a woman," Zoro told her bluntly. "Come on this way."

Zoro walked on, hearing the girl hesitating before hurrying after him.

* * *

Tashigi could hear her own breathing, short, sharp gusts of air that seemed as ineffective as they sounded in her ears. Without her glasses, she could not clearly make out her surroundings, but she did not need to see clearly to know that she was no longer on a navy ship. First of all, this ship was tiny – no four-bunk room to herself here, she thought darkly. And this ship smelled so differently to a navy ship. The air hung with the scents of cheap tobacco smoke, raw seafood, oranges, metal, gunpowder and flowers. Tashigi was not even sure where all of the smells were originating from, but she did not really care at that particular moment. Keeping in pace with Zoro, Tashigi followed her sworn enemy to a small kitchen, where the blonde-haired pirate was washing dishes.

"Hey shit-head, the girl wants some food," Zoro said, before dropping into a chair at the table, his elbows clattering against the table.

Tashigi was not really accustomed to hearing men use bad language so freely around her – usually even the pirates and bandits in the navy prisons were moderately restrained around her – but apparently Zoro did not care for such things. Tashigi had not expected him to be so open with his emotions and thoughts, although she could not entirely be sure why. Zoro was a pirate, after all, and answerable to no-one.

"So beautiful, you want a little something to eat?" the chef asked, turning to grin at her.

Tashigi was not entirely sure how to take this man. She had never met a man who was so full of compliments for her, which she reasoned should probably be a good thing – and yet she found his whole demeanour a little false, unnecessary and undignified.

"My name's Tashigi," she said quietly.

"Certainly Tashigi," he replied, pulling out a seat across from Zoro at the table. "Take a seat gorgeous, and I'll prepare you a meal you won't ever forget!"

"Something light will suffice," Tashigi informed him, carefully sitting down opposite Zoro.

Sitting rigidly straight, her hands rested on her lap, Tashigi frowned across the table at Zoro, who was shamelessly slouched across the surface of the table.

"Are you holding me as a hostage?" she asked him.

"Huh?" he grunted, lifting his eyes to look up at her.

"That's it isn't it?" she asked quietly. "You're holding me hostage here!"

"No such thing, my darling Tashigi!" the chef said behind her. "Zoro just took you here because he likes you a lot, but he doesn't know how to speak to a lady, so he kidnapped you like the animal that he is."

Tashigi glanced nervously back and forth between the two men, wondering both if the chef's words were correct and if these men might actually try to kill each other – they certainly seemed to hate each other a lot for two members of the same, small, pirate crew.

"I didn't take her here, she took herself here!" Zoro sneered at the chef.

"I bet he says that to all the ladies," the chef whispered to her.

"I'm telling the truth Tamaki, you grabbed onto me!" Zoro insisted, jabbing a finger at Tashigi as he spoke.

"My name is Tashigi!" she growled. "I think you're deliberately getting it wrong to be rude to me again! Just like how you always have to insult my face!"

"I hate your face!" Zoro snapped, sitting up.

"Hey Marimo, what the hell is your problem?" the chef snapped. "That's a terrible way to speak to a lady, especially one as pretty as the lovely Miss Tashigi!"

"Crawl in a hole and die!" Zoro growled at him.

"Apologise to the lady, Marimo!"

"Stay out of this!"

"M-Marimo?" Tashigi said slowly, looking up over her shoulder at the chef. "Why do you call him "Marimo"?"

Zoro groaned, smacking his head against the table. Tashigi eyed him curiously, but he was too busy muttering curses into the wood to notice her questioning look.

"Here, you see this?" Sanji asked, placing a book down on the table in front of her. "That's a marimo."

"It's a big round ball of moss," Tashigi concluded, after scanning over the picture before her.

"Exactly," Sanji said, indicating Zoro with one upturned hand. "A marimo is big, round, green and spiky, just like his head."

Tashigi looked at the picture of the green spiky ball again, before lifting her eyes to Zoro's green spiky hair, unable to contain the grin that began to tug at the corners of her mouth.

"It looks like his head!" she giggled. "It's big and round and spiky and green like his head!"

"Damn you, pervert cook!" Zoro yelled moodily, slapping the book off the table and rising abruptly to his feet.

"I've got other names for him, but I'll explain those later," the chef whispered to Tashigi. "Most of them I don't say to his face."

"Just die, you bastard!" Zoro snarled at the chef as he returned to his pans.

Tashigi watched Zoro curiously, still amazed at how openly he displayed his emotions. Perhaps, she thought to herself, she had simply spent too long in the company of Captain Smoker, who was always so calm and in control, and always repressed everything to the point that he became nothing short of infuriating.

* * *

"Get me a damn ship, and do it now!" Smoker barked.

"Sir, a call from Captain Hina for you."

Smoker growled, clawing his fingers through his hair.

"Not now," he said gruffly.

"Sir, she's not on the radio," the officer said slowly. "She's… Here, Sir."

"What?" Smoker echoed, turning to face the marine.

He growled out a sigh of frustration as he caught sight of a tall, slender figure silhouetted by the doorway.

"Hina doesn't like to be kept waiting, Mister Smoker," she called in to him.

"Hina can go take a…" Smoker began muttering under his breath.

"Hina hears Mister Smoker had a little accident," Hina continued, her heels clicking loudly against the wooden floor as she entered the room. "Where is that delightful little girl you always have running around at your ankles, Mister Smoker?"

Smoker snarled quietly before turning to face his fellow captain, finding her standing a short distance from him, her arms folded loosely over her chest, pouting at him expectantly. Obviously she was pleased with herself, as, for once, she had him right where she wanted him – completely at her mercy.

"I lost her," he reluctantly confessed, fumbling through the inside pocket of his jacket. "I… I lost her. Pirates have her now."

"Pirates, Mister Smoker?" Hina echoed.

"That's what I said, Hina," Smoker moodily replied, finally retrieving his lighter and holding it out towards her.

"Don't mind if I do, Mister Smoker," she said, reaching forwards to pluck a cigar from his coat. "So, you've let pirates run off with Hina's dear friend Tashigi."

Smoker watched her bite into the cigar, flicking the lighter at her.

"Your "dear friend"?" he repeated. "That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it?"

Hina shook her head at him as her cigar lowed to life, powder-pink strands of hair rustling at her shoulders.

"Play nice, Mister Smoker," she warned him. "Or Hina won't play nice with you."

Smoker narrowed his eyes, snapping shut the lighter.

"You're not about to take the official line with me, are you?" he asked her quietly. "You, my oldest friend and colleague, are refusing to help me?"

"Hina has never refused you anything, Mister Smoker," Hina slyly replied. "But I must advise that it would be unwise to spend time and effort chasing a girl who has eloped with a pirate."

"Sergeant Major Tashigi did not elope with a pirate!" Smoker yelled at her angrily. "They took her against her will!"

Hina shrugged, blowing out a stream of smoke between her lips.

"Hina enjoyed Tashigi just as much as you did, Mister Smoker," she said slowly. "Hina enjoyed the girl's antics and her delightful anecdotes about… Swords… But Mister Smoker seriously, you will not get backing from the navy to chase after a girl who has chosen to elope with a pirate."

"She didn't choose to elope with him!" Smoker growled out.

"Him, Mister Smoker?" Hina asked, frowning at him curiously. "So there was one pirate in particular that your little pet ran off with?"

Smoker remained silent for a moment, suppressing the urge to lose his temper with his one remaining ally. If he was going to start a search for Tashigi, he was going to need all the help he could get, especially as he no longer had a ship.

"The swordsman, Roronoa Zoro," Smoker ground out through gritted teeth. "I believe she was trying to arrest him and confiscate one of his swords."

Hina walked over to the wall of wanted posters behind Smoker. He watched over his shoulder as she slowly scanned over them, before placing one long, thin finger onto Zoro's face, turning to look back at him. Smoker nodded his confirmation that she had located the right man, walking over to join her.

"What do you think?" he asked her.

"Hina thinks Mister Zoro is a very attractive young man, Mister Smoker," Hina replied, smiling at Smoker as he began to snarl at her. "Hina thinks she might run off with Mister Zoro herself."

"He's half your age, you stupid woman!" Smoker snapped at her, grabbing the poster from the wall and tearing it to pieces.

"My, my Mister Smoker!" Hina gasped. "We are very cross today, aren't we?"

"Hina, will you help me get her back or not?" Smoker demanded impatiently.

"Hina would first of all like to remind Mister Smoker that Sergeant Major Tashigi is half Mister Smoker's age. And then Hina would like to say that she is not twice Mister Zoro's age, as you say. Mister Smoker forgets that Hina is only twenty-five years old."

"You've been twenty-five for over seven years, you stupid bitch," Smoker muttered.

"And Mister Smoker is old enough to be Miss Tashigi's father."

Smoker arched his eyebrows at Hina, wondering it he ought to bother pointing out that it would be a miracle of nature if he was in fact Tashigi's father, as Smoker had not even been a teenager when Tashigi had been born; but, knowing that Hina liked to play the role of the sweet little girl when it suited her to do so, he remained silent, allowing her to continue.

"You didn't always like them so young, Chase."

Smoker faltered for a moment, unsure if he had heard Hina correctly. She had her back turned to him, and her words had come out as little more than a breathy whisper.

"Hina particularly likes Miss Tashigi," she said loudly, spinning around to face him. "Hina will help you get her back – assuming of course, that our little Sergeant Major does in fact want to return to the ranks of the navy."

"Thank you Hina," Smoker sighed.

"I have a condition," she sharply added.

"Of course," Smoker agreed. "Anything."

"Hina will only help you do this once," she said slowly. "Only once. If Miss Tashigi does not wish to return, Hina will not pursue her again. And, Hina wants Mister Smoker to return to his rightful post in Loguetown."

"Gladly," Smoker agreed with a nod of his head. "And don't worry, Tashigi won't want to spend a minute longer with those pirates than she absolutely has to!"

"Hm…" Hina purred, plucking up a new poster of Zoro and pinning it to the wall. "Nineteen years old. Young, strong, virile, and he likes… Swords…"

Hina pouted at Smoker before turning her back on him. He pulled a face at her back, relieved that she was going to lend her assistance when the navy would not, but equally irked by the prospect of spending so much time with her until they eventually caught the Straw-Hat Pirates.

'Tashigi,' he thought to himself. 'I hope you can keep safe until we find you.'

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Zoro makes an agreement with Tashigi but is suspicious of her behaviour; Tashigi mourns her Shigure and becomes curious about Zoro; Smoker wonders if Tashigi left by choice as he arranges a search party to find her. **Chapter 8 – Misrepresented**.


	8. Misrepresented

**Recap:** Zoro tried in vain to convince his crew that keeping Tashigi onboard was a very bad idea; Tashigi awoke to find herself onboard her worst enemies' ship without her glasses or her trusted Shigure; Smoker made a deal with Hina to recover Tashigi.

* * *

 **Chapter 8 – Misrepresented**

Zoro sat perched on the edge of the upper deck of the ship, his shirt abandoned, one arm working a weight. From the corner of his eye, he could see the marine girl – Tashigi – standing not too far below him, looking out to sea mournfully. Probably missing "Smoker", he thought sourly. He still strongly believed that their crew needed to get rid of Tashigi, even if that meant dumping her overboard on a lifeboat with some fresh water and a small ration of food. As long as she was on their ship, the marines would be hot on their heels, and they would be guilty of a crime they had not committed: abducting a naval marine and holding her against her will.

Zoro swapped the weight to his other hand, grabbing up a half-drunk bottle of rum from his side and gulping down a sizeable volume of the remains, hissing as it burned at his throat. He heard a small clicking sound below him, but chose to ignore it, keeping his eyes on the sea.

"There's more to being a great swordsman than just brute strength, you know!"

Zoro turned to scowl down at the marine, who was looking up at him, her hair whipping across her face in the wind.

"Yes there is," he called back to her. "A sense of balance, grace, being prepared at all times and being able to see what lies beyond the end of your own sword!"

She pulled a face at him, and, assuming that this signalled the end of their conversation, Zoro returned to working his arm, casting his eyes back out across the water. Privately, he was keeping an eye on the horizon for any ships emblazoned with the blue insignia of the navy. The moment he spotted such a ship, he intended to push the girl overboard and make sure the crew left her there.

'I can't do it,' he thought darkly. 'I can't push her overboard, she just looks too much like Kuina!'

"Stop looking at me with that face!" he snapped, glowering down from the corner of his eye at the girl, who was still watching him.

"I was born with this face!" she yelled back.

Zoro screwed up his face at her, wondering if she realised how redundant her response was.

"I think you have a beautiful face, Tashigi-swan!" Sanji said.

Zoro arched his eyebrows sceptically, watching as the loved-up cook approached the marine, trying to win her over with offers of sweet cakes and wine.

"Oh no thank you Sanji," he heard her say. "I don't drink alcohol."

"Ha!" Zoro blurted, grabbing up his bottle of rum again to take another swig.

As he replaced the bottle, Zoro looked down to ensure that he had Tashigi's attention.

"Face it, you can't drink alcohol!" he called down to her. "You're already a walking disaster with no sense of balance!"

"If drinking alcohol will turn me into a bitter, twisted criminal like you, I won't ever drink it!" she yelled back.

"Don't give me that crap, you sailors are always getting drunk!" Zoro scoffed.

"You know nothing!"

"I know a lot more than you! While you've been polishing Smokey's boots, I've been out in the world learning and improving myself and my skills!"

The girl yelped out an indignant noise before stepping forwards, disappearing from Zoro's line of sight. He paused, his arm mid-curl, frowning curiously at the deck, wondering what she was trying to do. Zoro did not have to wonder long however, as a moment later, the girl flung herself up onto the upper deck, landing at his side.

"Hey!" he cried, eying her over. "Are you stupid? What do you think you're doing? You shouldn't be climbing up like that, you could have fallen!"

"Oh what would you care if I did fall and break my neck?" she shot back, planting her hands on her hips.

'Because that was exactly what killed Kuina, you reckless idiot girl,' Zoro thought to himself. 'Clumsiness, a brief moment of lapsed concentration. One second she was fine, the next she was lying dead at the bottom of a staircase.'

"I don't want to have to listen to Smokey cry like a baby when he finds out you died being stupid," Zoro lied, turning away from her and continuing his exercises.

"You don't have to worry about that, Captain Smoker doesn't believe in crying!" she snippily replied.

"Then why does he keep you around?" Zoro asked her, smirking as he cast her a sideward glance.

Zoro saw her falter, her face turning pale before flushing with colour.

"How long am I going to be here?"

"What?"

Zoro dropped his dumbbell, turning to look directly at the girl.

"How long am I going to be here?" she asked him quietly, one hand fidgeting with the empty scabbard she still had tied to her hip. "With you."

Zoro found himself suddenly on his feet, something about the tone of her voice not really settling well with him.

"What do you mean with me?" he asked.

"Well, I… I thought maybe if I'm going to be your prisoner here for more than a few days, perhaps we could train together."

Zoro cringed back from the girl, eying her over in a state of utter horror. The very last thing he wanted to do was to spend the next few days – possibly even the next few weeks – getting into physical melees with this girl.

"No, absolutely not!" he told her confidently.

"Why not?" she instantly responded, making Zoro grunt in alarm at her persistence. "We're both swordsmen, we both need to keep our skills sharp. I would have thought that you would have been glad to have someone to spar with."

"But you're not someone to spar with, you're…"

Zoro waved his hands about as words escaped him. What was she? He could not consider her a worthy sparring partner, but just what was she?

"We've duelled in the past, and you can't keep up with me," he pointed out, hoping to get rid of her.

"I know I can't," she replied, thinning her features as she regarded him. "Which is exactly why I would like to train with you."

"But…" Zoro began desperately. "You'll hold me back."

"I'm not asking for much," she replied quietly. "Even just an hour a day."

"An hour?" Zoro yelped.

"Fine then, half an hour," she offered. "If you do this for me, I'll…"

Zoro saw the girl's eyes wander, and turning his head, he saw that she was casting his Wado Ichimonji the kind of look Sanji usually used on Nami when she stripped down to the skimpiest of outfits.

"I'll let you keep the Wado Ichimonji, even though it pains me to know that you are abusing it so," she said tightly, meeting Zoro's eyes with her determined expression once more set in place.

And, Zoro thought with an inward sigh, it was that look that made her resemble Kuina the most. Saying no to her now was as good as turning down another chance to face Kuina, and that was something he had never refused, no matter how many times she beaten him senseless.

"I'll give you fifteen minutes, including warm-up, you will not so much as look at my Wado Ichimonji ever again, and…" Zoro paused as he tried to think of something else vile to through into his bargaining, in the hope of dissuading the girl altogether. "And if you ever call me Smoker again, you'll leave the navy."

The girl frowned at him, but Zoro merely shrugged his shoulders.

"He's an old man, it was an insult," he said, hoping his words did not sound as childish to her as they did to his own ears.

"Captain Smoker is ten times the man you are," she coldly replied. "It hurt me more than you to confuse the two of you. It was an honest mistake, his hair was wet, and I thought I saw a scar on his chest."

Zoro frowned lightly, touching a hand to the wound Mihawk had inflicted upon him, touching the part where it tore across his heart. How did she know that he had that scar – was this not the first time he had been shirtless around this girl?

"Seaweed…" he muttered, as the image of the marine captain strangling him returned to his mind. "He had seaweed on his chest."

"Oh…" she said slowly, nodding her head, her eyes lowering to her feet. "Twenty minutes, and you have yourself a deal."

She lifted her eyes back to Zoro's, outstretching a hand towards him. He quirked an eyebrow at her curiously, wondering if she had forgotten telling him back on the island earlier that she did not "make deals with pirates".

"Twenty minutes," he agreed gruffly, grabbing her hand to shake it.

Zoro shook her hand, but found her grip tightening ever so slightly as he went to release her hand. He instantly met her eyes, studying her carefully. Her expression was blank, leaving Zoro with the realisation that he was holding her hand for an unusual length of time, and he had not even said anything.

"Right then," he said, grabbing back his hand and moving it to the back of his head, raking his finger at his hair. "I'll see you later."

Before she could talk at him any more, Zoro grabbed the railings, leaping over them and down to the lower deck, walking briskly away from her, something telling him that distance would relieve the knot that was forming in the pit of his gut.

* * *

Tashigi sighed, balling her hands into fists at her sides as she looked out across the water. Instinctively, she was looking for the reassuring blue insignia of the navy, a sure sign that she could escape the pirate ship she had somehow ended up on, and return to her rightful place with the marines, working under and alongside Captain Smoker. Of course, in the absence of her glasses, Tashigi could see little more than hazes of colour, and she knew that she would not be able to recognise any ship until it was within easy swimming distance of the pirate ship.

Tapping her foot nervously and releasing a sigh, Tashigi silently admitted that she felt lost. Being without proper sleeping quarters or her personal belongings was nothing out of the ordinary for her, but being without her glasses, her treasured Shigure and Captain Smoker, she felt completely lost. The hardest thing for her to accept was trying to decide what to do – and not just in respect to how she was going to get herself away from the Straw-Hat Pirates and back to the navy. The more thought she invested in the matter, the more Tashigi realised that she did, quite literally, "tail Mister Smoker's ankles all day", just as Captain Hina had once accused her of, and without Mister Smoker around, she had nothing to do and nowhere to go.

That, she thought sourly, just sounded pathetic. She was an intelligent and sensible woman, she was certain she could find ways to keep herself busy without her commanding officer around. It was just a sense of habit, she told herself firmly. Just like when Smoker had left her in charge in Arabasta, she had been confused, lost and desperate for his presence then, and it was simply because she was so accustomed to having him around to make decisions and give her orders. It was nothing, she would survive this just as she had survived the horrid ordeal in Arabasta; only this time, she would not return to her captain as a silly, tearful little girl. She would return with her head held high and make him proud of her.

But, she thought to herself, chewing on her lip as her face began to twist into a frown, she did really miss not being able to simply fetch a tray of tea or coffee to bring to her captain, if only to drink it whilst listening to him talk about something pointless like recent significant promotions of officers they both knew. Their conversations were always of the same nature: the navy, marine business, politics and the agenda for the day. Smoker had never volunteered any personal information in the many hours they had spent talking, and Tashigi had never dared asked. She had occasionally slipped in some information about herself in the hope that he might reciprocate; but her endeavours had always been without success. The only thing she did know now was that Smoker was apparently involved with Hina – not that Tashigi was entirely surprised by this piece of information. Why not, she thought? They were both of the same rank, both very successful and much respected, they had known each other for probably close to twenty years and they certainly had a unique banter between them.

And Hina was quite easily the prettiest officer in the navy, Tashigi thought darkly. Just the mere mention of her name brought a doe-eyed look to the faces of every male marine in the vicinity.

Tashigi sighed, turning around to see Zoro sat above her head, stripped to the waist, doing arm curls with a seemingly unreasonable weight, sweat glistening across his bronzed body, his face taut from the obvious strain of his exertions. As she watched him, he grabbed up a bottle of cheap rum, gulping down an unhealthy amount before slamming the bottle back down at his side. Tashigi clicked her tongue involuntarily unable to stop her mind from making the association of the idiot man who considered himself invincible because he was physically strong, forgetting that combat was about more than just sheer strength. In fact, Tashigi thought to herself, since she was feeling rough around the edges, Zoro might just prove to be the welcome distraction from her misery that she sought.

"There's more to being a great swordsman than just brute strength, you know!" she called up to him.

Zoro turned his head at the sound of her voice, scowling down at her, his arm slowing as he spoke his rebuttal.

"Yes there is," he called back to her. "A sense of balance, grace, being prepared at all times and being able to see what lies beyond the end of your own sword!"

Tashigi pulled a face at him in disgust. It was hardly fair to point out her weaknesses so bluntly, particularly when all the points he had raised were matters beyond her own personal control – it was not her own doing that she was so clumsy, nor could she help her poor eyesight, least of all since Zoro had so kindly destroyed her glasses.

"Stop looking at me with that face!" he snapped suddenly, awakening Tashigi from her thoughts abruptly and abrasively.

"I was born with this face!" she yelled back indignantly.

Zoro pulled a face at her looking suddenly very childish from the angle Tashigi was watching him from.

"I think you have a beautiful face, Tashigi-swan!" the chef said sweetly, appearing from nowhere at her side to cast her a grin so cheesy, it made her feel a little nauseous. "Don't mind Marimo. Here, something sweet for someone sweet!"

Tashigi looked down at the small silver tray balanced perfectly on Sanji's fingertips, finding a small collection of handmade sweet cakes, a medium quality goblet and a newly opened bottle of red wine.

"Oh no thank you Sanji," she said, gently pushing the offer away. "I don't drink alcohol."

"Ha!" Zoro blurted from above her head.

Tashigi looked up in time to see Zoro throw back a mouthful of rum, a small trickle missing his intended target and slipping down one corner of his mouth. He grinned at Tashigi as he slammed the bottle back down at his side, at which she merely tilted her head to one side, wondering what he hoped to achieve with such a disgusting display.

"Face it, you can't drink alcohol!" he called down to her. "You're already a walking disaster with no sense of balance!"

"If drinking alcohol will turn me into a bitter, twisted criminal like you, I won't ever drink it!" she yelled back.

"Don't give me that crap, you sailors are always getting drunk!" Zoro scoffed.

"You know nothing!" Tashigi exploded, despising his use of such a stereotype, particularly since he himself was nothing more than a pirate.

"I know a lot more than you!" Zoro shot back. "While you've been polishing Smokey's boots, I've been out in the world learning and improving myself and my skills!"

Tashigi yelped, her temper flaring. Without thinking sensibly, she leapt forwards, grabbing onto the cabin and nimbly scaling it to the upper deck, standing over Zoro to glare down at him.

"Hey!" he cried, eying her over. "Are you stupid? What do you think you're doing? You shouldn't be climbing up like that, you could have fallen!"

"Oh what would you care if I did fall and break my neck?" she shot back, planting her hands on her hips.

Tashigi watched Zoro's face go unusually blank for a prolonged period, his eyes lose a little of their lustre as his mind appeared to wander to something. The odd look on his face soon melted however, and he turned his head from her.

"I don't want to have to listen to Smokey cry like a baby when he finds out you died being stupid," he said bluntly, recommencing his exercises.

"You don't have to worry about that, Captain Smoker doesn't believe in crying!" she snippily replied, knowing this to be a fact thanks to her recent first-hand experience of the matter.

"Then why does he keep you around?" Zoro asked her, smirking as he cast her a sideward glance.

Zoro's words cut into Tashigi much deeper than she suspected he would ever know. She stiffened, part of her screaming that he was right – Smoker did not want a miserable crying, hormonal girl as his second-in-command, what use was she to him anyway? But Tashigi was also determined to prove them wrong – both of them. She would prove to Zoro that she was a formidable opponent, and she would prove to Smoker that she was worthy to stand alongside him in rank.

"How long am I going to be here?" she quietly asked Zoro, an idea forming in her mind of how she could fulfil both of her wishes with one easy action.

"What?" Zoro grunted.

Zoro dropped his dumbbell, turning to look directly at her.

"How long am I going to be here?" she asked him quietly, one hand fidgeting with the empty scabbard she still had tied to her hip as her mind began formulating the finer points of her plan. "With you."

Zoro shot to his feet, a fearful look fleeting across his eyes as he studied her.

"What do you mean with me?" he asked her.

"Well, I…" Tashigi began slowly. "I thought maybe if I'm going to be your prisoner here for more than a few days, perhaps we could train together."

"No, absolutely not!" he dismissed.

"Why not?" she instantly responded, refusing to back down now that she had proposed the idea. "We're both swordsmen, we both need to keep our skills sharp. I would have thought that you would have been glad to have someone to spar with."

"But you're not someone to spar with, you're…"

'I'm what?' Tashigi thought dryly. 'Just a girl? A klutz? Not strong enough for you?'

"We've duelled in the past, and you can't keep up with me," he eventually said.

"I know I can't," she confessed, suppressing the pain it caused her to admit as much. "Which is exactly why I would like to train with you."

"But…" Zoro began. "You'll hold me back."

"I'm not asking for much," she replied quietly. "Even just an hour a day."

"An hour?" Zoro yelped.

"Fine then, half an hour," she offered. "If you do this for me, I'll…"

Tashigi looked over at the beautiful, precious, irreplaceable Wado Ichimonji, which lay on the deck just behind where Zoro had been sat. Watching it forlornly, Tashigi realised there was perhaps just one way she could bargain with this pirate.

"I'll let you keep the Wado Ichimonji, even though it pains me to know that you are abusing it so," she said tightly, meeting Zoro's eyes with determination.

She saw him purse his lips, a thoughtful look passing over his eyes before he answered her.

"I'll give you fifteen minutes, including warm-up, you will not so much as look at my Wado Ichimonji ever again," he offered. "And… And if you ever call me Smoker again, you'll leave the navy."

Tashigi frowned at him sceptically, wondering why he had felt the need to add such a strange final qualification to his offer.

"He's an old man, it was an insult," he said childishly, shrugging his shoulders and pouting slightly, looking suddenly ten years younger than he actually was.

Hearing him so easily cast out such a pitiful insult against her captain made Tashigi's blood boil, and logic left her as she answered him.

"Captain Smoker is ten times the man you are," she said coldly, not caring how big a dent her words may make to his pride. "It hurt me more than you to confuse the two of you. It was an honest mistake, his hair was wet, and I thought I saw a scar on his chest."

Tashigi saw Zoro touch a hand to the centre of his chest self-consciously, his fingertips gingerly brushing over the welt in his skin. The look on his face told her the scar carried with it terrible memories – it was a horrific injury, stretching from just below his left shoulder, across the centre of his chest, to his right hip – it looked as though the wound had been inflicted by a sword, and had been almost mortally deep. Tashigi felt a little guilty for having mentioned it: Zoro was covered with scars of varying degrees, whilst she herself had but three, only one of which was visible, and barely so at that. The majority of her sword-fights had been done under a controlled environment in her training, whereas Zoro had obviously been involved in a lot of duels to the death, resulting in his suffering such serious injuries.

"Seaweed…" he muttered quietly, his hand slowly lowering to his side once more. "He had seaweed on his chest."

"Oh…" Tashigi said slowly, nodding her head, her eyes lowering to her feet as she realised how particularly bad her eyesight and judgement had been that night, to mistake seaweed for a scar. "Twenty minutes, and you have yourself a deal," she proposed quietly, hoping to force his hand.

She slowly looked up at Zoro again, holding out her hand to seal the deal and to assure herself that she had at least earned some degree of commitment from him. He cast her a suspicious look, but took hold of her hand regardless.

"Twenty minutes," he agreed gruffly.

They shook hands briefly, and Tashigi promptly made to retrieve her hand, only for Zoro to tighten his grip, holding her in place. His eyes flicked to hers, and she found him studying her with an unsettling, intense look on his face. Tashigi began to feel awkward standing there with her worst enemy holding onto her hand and staring at her so, especially when she could sense he was thinking about something that appeared oddly sinister.

"Right then," she said, deciding to end the tension, yanking her hand back and promptly placing both her hands behind her back. "I'll see you later."

Before he could say or do anything else to make her feel any more awkward, Tashigi moved to the ladder, hurriedly descending it to the lower deck, where she promptly walked off, trying to put as much distance between herself and Zoro as she could, at least until the buzzing feeling in her chest had subsided.

* * *

Smoker sat forwards, earning him a short, sharp, disgusted sigh from Hina, which he easily ignored, focussing his attention on the officer who had just entered the office.

"Did you find it yet?" he demanded.

"No Sir, but we did find this," the man replied, lifting up one hand.

Smoker shot out of his chair, gasping at what he saw. Cradled in the palm of the man's hand was a crushed, damp, but sickeningly familiar pair of square, red-rimmed glasses.

"Tashigi…" he whispered, pinching one bent leg between his thumb and forefinger and gently lifting them upwards.

"I'll let you know immediately if we find any trace of the sword, Sir," the officer added, bowing his head to Smoker. "Captain Hina, may I saw you look as lovely as ever."

"No, you may not," Hina sorely replied.

The officer floundered at her response, his face turning a little pink. He looked up at Smoker questioningly, but Smoker merely rolled his eyes.

"Good work, but step it up a bit, we need that sword," he instructed.

"Yes, Sir," the man replied, saluting him.

Smoker watched the man go before looking down at the crumpled remains of Tashigi's glasses in his hands. Had she been wearing her glasses when she had attached herself to Zoro, he wondered? He could not quite remember, but he was certain that she had been wearing them when she had pleaded with him to spare Zoro's life.

"Perhaps while Mister Smoker is being pathetic over a broken pair of glasses, Hina will go out and arrest some criminals," Hina said snippily behind him. "And when Hina collects the bounties on their heads, Mister Smoker can use the money to buy his little pet a new toy."

"I'm not leaving here without her sword, Hina," Smoker said bluntly, dropping himself back into his seat with a sigh. "I just feel so useless right now! If I could swim, I could have found it myself by now!"

"Hina would like to point out that Mister Smoker knew the side-effects of eating a Devil Fruit before–"

"Yes, thank you Hina."

Smoker slowly rubbed his fingers together, watching Tashigi's glasses spin beneath his hand. Wherever she was, he thought, she was not only without her sword, but she was also without her glasses, leaving her particularly prone. Smoker felt reasonably confident that she would be safe with Straw-Hat himself, but as for the other men in the Straw-Hat crew, Smoker could only cringe at the thought. Zoro, who was doubtlessly the typical ladies' man, was probably the biggest threat to the safety of a girl like Tashigi. And that blonde-haired one that had called himself "Mr Prince" was obviously not much better. Smoker began to grow tense again, the agony of how painfully naïve and vulnerable Tashigi truly was becoming too much for him once more.

"Stop it!" Hina hissed, suddenly grabbing Smoker's knee.

He turned his head, eying her questioningly as she gripped her gloved fingers into his leg, her grasp becoming a little more than just a discomfort.

"Your leg keeps jittering," she growled out, locking her dark eyes onto his. "It's not very becoming of a captain of the navy."

"Yes…" Smoker said slowly, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as an idea occurred to him as to how he could pass the time a little more pleasantly. "Although, technically speaking, Mister Smoker isn't a captain any more…"

Smoker grinned shamelessly at Hina as her face dropped.

"You refused that promotion, Mister Smoker," she hissed.

Smoker widened his grin a little, feeling marginally better when she growled like an enraged cat and stood from her chair, marching across the room.

"Hina isn't happy," she moaned. "You make me unhappy, Mister Smoker," she added, turning slightly to point at him.

Smoker shrugged his shoulders, slowly sitting back into his chair.

"You never change," she added. "I hated you then, and I hate you now!"

"That's not how I remember it…" Smoker said slyly, faking a thoughtful look.

"You are cruel and pig-headed!" Hina snapped.

Smoker grinned at her until she snarled out another frustrated yelp, spinning around to turn her back on him, her hair flying through the air around her.

"Do you know why Hina likes Miss Tashigi so much, Mister Smoker?" she asked moodily.

"No idea," Smoker casually replied.

"Because Hina pities the poor girl, having to work under a big bully like you!"

Smoker's grin faded, his mind once more wandering to darker matters. Of course, Hina was only calling him a bully because he was the one man in the navy that she had not managed to successfully wind around her little finger – quite the opposite, in fact – but her words did make Smoker wonder if perhaps Tashigi had left because he had been too hard on her. He had worried in the past about over-stepping the boundaries of their relationship: he was, after all, her commanding officer, and it would have been unfitting to ever abuse his position as such. But, the day she had returned to the docks after the disaster in Arabasta, looking thoroughly defeated both physically and mentally, only to retire to her room where she cried herself to sleep, maybe, just maybe, that was a time when it would not have been so wrong to at least offer her some sympathy. She had seriously injured her leg, she had contusions around her neck that suggested someone had tried to strangle her, she had various other minor bruises and cuts, and she was obviously exhausted, having lost a night's sleep. He had left her in charge and she had returned to him broken and beaten.

Once Tashigi had awoken, she had approached him, whereupon he had launched into discussing the new, higher bounties the navy had placed upon the heads of Straw-Hat Luffy and Roronoa Zoro. Although, Smoker reasoned, he had inquired after her injuries. Typically though, Tashigi had avoided answering him. He suspected she did not like to admit any weaknesses to him, and admitting that she still hurt like hell was doing just that. Equally, she would never pretend to be fine when she was not, since she was practically unable to lie. She was good, clean and righteous – perfect fodder for filthy pirates.

Smoker dropped his head into his hand, closing his other fist around her glasses, hoping his worst fears had not yet become a reality, and that he would get to Tashigi long before they did.

"Sir, a local fisherman just handed this in."

Smoker lifted his head sharply, his eyes instantly locking onto the object the officer before him held.

"About time," he sighed, standing up to grab Tashigi's sword from his hand. "We're leaving. Now."

Smoker marched past Hina, who momentarily appeared a little flustered.

"Don't you think you ought to put your coat on, Mister Smoker?" she called after him.

"Uh, yeah, right," he called back. "Get that for me, would you?"

Ignoring the sound of Hina cursing his name, Smoker marched onwards towards the docks, craning his neck to survey the ships available. Hina had offered him a small ship that would be suitable for him and a small crew, but he decided that he would simply pick the fastest, most robust ship he could find, and Hina would just have to like it.

"We're taking this one," he told his officers, pointing a thumb at one of Hina's higher-grade ships.

"Are you sure Sir?" one officer asked him nervously.

"Are you questioning my decision?" Smoker snapped at him irritably.

"No Sir, it was just that those two idiots are on that ship."

Smoker frowned at the officer, unsure as to what he was trying to say. The marine eventually pointed at something over Smoker's shoulder. Smoker turned his head, finding two men in plain clothing walking towards them both cradling impractically large bunches of flowers in their arms.

"Who the hell is that?" he asked, turning back to the officer in front of him.

"Fullbody and Jango, Sir," the man replied. "One is a former Second Lieutenant who was demoted for conspiring with pirates, the other is a former pirate."

"Huh?" Smoker echoed, glancing back and forth between the two men approaching and the officer in front of him. "What the hell is Hina thinking having men like that in her crew?"

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Tashigi starts her training with Zoro, Smoker sets off in search of Tashigi and the Straw-Hat Pirates and Zoro suspects that Tashigi is flirting with him – but it's alright, because there's a navy vessel in sight, and Smoker's onboard looking very, very happy… **Chapter 9 – A Powerful Dance**.


	9. A Powerful Dance

**Recap:** Zoro agreed to spar/train with Tashigi, Tashigi felt lost and confused and Smoker arranged a crew and ship to search for Tashigi.

* * *

 **Chapter 9 – A Powerful Dance**

Zoro idly looked up at the sky, silently noting that the stars were extremely bright and any traces of the sun long gone, suggesting that it was probably time for him to go to bed. Finishing the rum in his mug, he turned, a little unsteady on his feet, and looked around the others. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were still clapping their hands and nodding their heads in rhythm whilst all singing a different song, each slowly raising his voice as he tried to block out the other two. Nami and Robin were playing poker for money, and Sanji was on his knees at the table, begging them to consider a game of strip poker instead. Zoro paused, running his eyes over each crewmember again, before eventually pointing a finger at each of them in turn and listing them off quietly under his breath.

"Idiot, coward, fluffy, pervert, liar, cheat…" he said quietly as he passed over Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, Sanji, Robin and Nami respectively. "Zoro," he added, jabbing his finger at his own chest.

Zoro took a few steps forward, and as the wind rustled Nami's orange trees, he caught a glimpse of something at the stern of the ship. Frowning curiously, he walked sluggishly towards Nami's mini plantation, finding the back of the ship bathed in the soft blue light of the moon, the air oddly peaceful away from the rest of the crew.

"Thief!" he said, pointing at the person he found sat hunched by the very back of the ship.

The marine girl turned her head towards him, squinting desperately and leaning forwards.

"I thought someone was missing," he called over to her. "But I see you now."

She nodded her head slightly, before turning away from him again. Zoro made to retire to the men's quarters, pausing as he heard something faint.

"What?" he said, turning and staggering a little closer to the marine girl.

"I'm not a thief," she said quietly.

"Yes you are!" Zoro argued. "You have quite clearly stolen Kuina's face!"

Tashigi frowned, slowly tilting her head to fix her eyes onto him.

"Kuina?" she echoed.

"Yes!" Zoro replied. "You're sitting there wearing her face!"

"Oh…"

Zoro grinned as he noticed that she finally appeared to understand what he had been trying to say to her for so long about her uncanny resemblance to Kuina.

"So, are you going to bed yet?" he asked, dropping to his knees at her side.

"I don't usually go to bed this early," she replied. "Being in the marines, I have a lot of late nights."

"Of course!" Zoro said, nodding his head.

"You've been drinking quite a lot tonight, haven't you?" she asked, smiling at him.

"No!" Zoro laughed, slapping her shoulder.

"I think you have…" she said slyly, flicking one hand through her hair and casting him a coy look.

"I have to go to bed, I like to get up early and get some training done before breakfast, but you behave!"

Zoro stood up, waving a finger at her, watching in amusement as she continued to watch him with a sly expression, licking at her teeth. Zoro shook his head, turning his back on her and staggering back.

"She wants me," he muttered to himself with a cock-sure grin.

* * *

"And that one is the reindeer!" Tashigi explained.

"Oh wow!" Chopper sighed. "I never knew there were so many constellations! Where I come from, we didn't see much of the stars. You're really clever, knowing all those shapes and names."

"Basic navigation in the navy," Tashigi advised him with a small smile.

"Hey!" a voice barked, interrupting their conversation.

Tashigi turned to see the blurred image of Zoro standing by the three orange trees, one hand grabbing at the foliage, the other pointing lazily at her.

"I was asking you a question," he said, his speech slurred from alcohol, each word melting together, making it difficult for Tashigi to decipher what he was saying.

"Excuse me?" she echoed.

"You were hiding her face, but I see it now!" he said.

Tashigi turned to Chopper, who shrugged his shoulders to tell her he was as clueless as she was.

"So-so Kuina, what are we doing now?" Zoro asked, releasing the orange tree to stagger over towards Tashigi.

"Kuina?" Tashigi echoed, frowning at him.

Zoro looked at her blankly for a moment, before smiling and shaking his head.

"Come to bed with me Kuina," he said taking hold of her hand and leaning back to tug her to her feet.

"Oh!" Tashigi yelped as she was forced from her position sat next to Chopper. "Zoro!"

"Come on!" he moaned.

"Zoro, please!" she protested, tugging at her hand. "I'm very tired, I don't usually stay up this late. Being in the marines, I have to get up at five in the morning, I don't really have the energy to play games!"

"Oh Kuina, you're so uptight!" Zoro groaned.

"You've been drinking quite a lot tonight, haven't you?" Tashigi asked, glancing desperately at Chopper in the hope that he would offer her some assistance.

"No!" Zoro laughed, tugging her towards him and grabbing his other arm around her shoulders, holding her in a one-armed embrace.

"I think you have…" Tashigi said slowly reaching up a hand to tug her hair out from under the weight of Zoro's large forearm.

"Are you coming to bed with me or not, Kuina?" Zoro asked her, looking suddenly annoyed.

"No Zoro, I'm not," Tashigi patiently replied. "And my name is not Kuina."

Zoro groaned, dragging his arm up over the top of Tashigi's head, his elbow clipping the back of her head, causing her to inadvertently bite her tongue. She began licking at her teeth at the taste of blood, scowling disapprovingly at Zoro as he began to back away from her.

"I think he likes you," Chopper said, coming over to her side.

Tashigi quirked an eyebrow at the little reindeer, silently wondering where he had been when she had been fighting Zoro off seconds earlier.

"I can't stay here, it will be the death of me," she groaned.

"What?" Chopper echoed.

"I said I have to go to bed, I'm so tired," she lied, forcing a smile for Chopper's benefit.

"Okay," Chopper replied. "Goodnight then!"

"Goodnight," Tashigi said with a small wave of her hand.

Moving slowly to allow Zoro to get well out of her way, Tashigi was heading for the women's quarters, something she had been delaying for as long as possible as she was secretly dreading having to share a confined space with two unknown female pirates. Although, she thought to herself, perhaps it was a good thing that there were other females onboard, otherwise she would have been forced to share sleeping space with the men, which would have been positively unbearable.

Fearful of entering the wrong part of the ship in the continued absence of her glasses, Tashigi prodded the door to the women's quarters with one finger, spying into the room cautiously before pushing the door fully open to walk in.

"I'll just get back into that hammock, and go to sleep," she told herself quietly. "And maybe by tomorrow morning, we will reach land, or meet a navy ship."

Tashigi removed her shoes and climbed into the hammock, pulling a sheet up over herself and closing her eyes. She began to relax and slowly drift off the sleep, but a few seconds later her peace was shattered as Nami and Robin came tearing into the room, screaming something about being chased.

"What is it?" Tashigi wailed, sitting bolt upright. "What's happening?"

"We're playing a little trick on Sanji," Nami said with a grin, holding up a bundle of black cloth.

Tashigi squinted unable to make out just what she held in her hand.

"Are we being cruel?" Robin asked Nami. "It is quite cold tonight!"

"Who cares, it was worth it just to see his face!" Nami laughed, unfurling the pile of cloth and holding it up.

Tashigi's jaw dropped open as she saw the bundle take the shape of a pair of trousers.

"We have to have some fun, stuck on a ship full of men!" Nami said.

Tashigi moved her eyes to the young pirate girl, who merely grinned at her.

"Didn't you ever play tricks on the men in the navy?" Nami asked her.

"Um…" Tashigi mumbled nervously, her face growing hot as she remembered how it was more typically the other way around.

"You mean you never played a trick on Smoker?" Nami asked, slowly walking towards Tashigi.

"I think Miss Tashigi takes her job very seriously, Nami," Robin advised.

"But that guy Smoker is just asking for someone to make fun of him!" Nami said, sitting onto the end of Tashigi's hammock. "He's kinda like Zoro – so serious and socially clueless, and just too easy to make fun of!"

Tashigi stared at Nami with wide, horrified eyes. Make fun of Captain Smoker? Play tricks on him? Steal his clothes? Just thinking about such things was making her blood run cold in her veins.

"Nami, leave the poor girl alone," Robin said, tugging the trousers from Nami's grasp. "She's not like you and I."

Tashigi watched Robin walk over to the door, open it and toss the trousers outside, before slamming the door shut again and turning to smile at her.

"Miss Tashigi chose all the safe options in life, and never had to worry about doing anything controversial," Robin said, walking over and sitting down on a hammock by Tashigi's head.

Tashigi glared at her, emotions suddenly dancing wildly around inside of her. This woman had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

"Do you think it's easy for me to be a woman in the marines?" she spat out, eying Robin over scornfully. "You're the one who chose the easy life! You don't have to care! You just do what you want, when you want! I've had to work hard my entire life!"

"Really?" Nami echoed. "So you're in the marines because you want to be?"

"Of course I am!" Tashigi yelped, turning to Nami. "Why else would I be there?"

Nami shrugged her shoulders, rolling her eyes to the ceiling thoughtfully.

"I just always thought you were there because of Smoker," she said.

Tashigi froze, her mind momentarily going blank.

"She means that we thought you were a marine because your man Smoker likes to keep you where he can see you," Robin explained.

"I know exactly what she means," Tashigi mechanically replied. "I just can't believe you really think that about me. I've worked hard to get where I am, and to find out that this is all I am to other people…"

"Oh," Nami said, lowering her eyes to Tashigi. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry!"

"We all come from completely different worlds, ladies," Robin said with a sigh.

"Yes, we do," Nami said, nodding her head in agreement.

"We do…" Tashigi said slowly. "So, why did you choose to become a pirate?"

"I didn't choose to become a pirate," Nami said, smiling sourly. "My mother was a marine, but she was killed by pirates, and they forced me to work for them. I was only a child. They tattooed my shoulder with their mark so that I couldn't escape."

"That's awful!" Tashigi gasped.

"I was incriminated for wanting to research the ancient poneglyphs. I became an outcast and a criminal because I chose to do something I enjoyed," Robin pointed out.

"But you…" Tashigi began, eying Robin over suspiciously.

"I do what I have to do to survive," Robin told her softly.

Tashigi slowly nodded her head, trying to block out her memories of her fight with Robin back in Arabasta.

"So, there's nothing going on between you and Smoker?" Nami asked her.

"No!" Tashigi indignantly replied. "He's my commanding officer, I would never dream of it!"

Nami's eyes shifted to Robin, and Tashigi saw them exchange knowing looks and sly smirks.

"But if he wasn't your captain…" Nami said slowly. "What then?"

Tashigi paused for a moment, Nami's words slowly sinking into her mind. She had never thought of Smoker as anything other than Captain Smoker, her commanding officer, particularly when she had known so little about his life outside of the marines.

"I don't think we'd even speak to each other if we weren't colleagues," she said slowly. "After all, that is the only thing we have in common. And besides, Captain Smoker is in love with Captain Hina."

"Captain Hina?" Robin repeated.

"You know her?" Tashigi asked, turning to Robin.

"No," Robin replied shaking her head. "Just seems like a strange name."

"So what about you and Zoro then?" Nami pressed.

"What about me and Zoro?" Tashigi wailed, turning back to face her.

"Well, you seem to always want to kill each other," Nami explained. "What did he do to you to get you so mad at him?"

"You even need to ask that question?" Robin scoffed. "Zoro is the most difficult man to like," she added, turning to Tashigi.

"He takes months just to trust you enough to say hello to him," Nami added.

"And he's quite selfish," Robin pointed out.

"And he's so grumpy!" Nami said.

"But he's an amazing swordsman," Tashigi said quietly.

"Sure, he is really tough, but he ought to be!" Nami replied. "He spends all his time training, sleeping and drinking! The man has no life outside of his swords!"

Tashigi found herself smiling weakly, feeling her life was oddly the same – outside of her passion for swords, what did she actually have to live for?

"Hey Tashigi, what do think of Sanji?" Nami asked, giggling as she spoke. "Or Luffy? Isn't Luffy crazy?"

Tashigi smiled as she watched Nami talk on about her other crewmates, playfully poking fun at them, her eyes sparkling cheerfully as she did so. These pirates were more than just colleagues like Tashigi and her fellow officers in the navy these pirates were all friends. Thinking long and hard about the matter, Tashigi began to wonder if there was anyone in the world that she could actually call a friend.

"Come on Nami, Tashigi must be tired, we should let her rest," Robin eventually interrupted her.

"Oh right!" Nami agreed. "Well, good night Tashigi."

"Good night, Nami," Tashigi said softly.

"And in the morning, you can borrow some of my clothes," Robin offered.

"Oh…" Tashigi said slowly, looking up at Robin curiously. "Thanks, that would be nice, I do need a change of clothes."

"No problem," Robin replied. "Sleep well."

Tashigi nodded her head before slowly slipping back down into her hammock. She turned her back on the others and closed her eyes, slowly drifting to sleep listening to the two women whisper and giggle between themselves about silly things their fellow pirates had done that day.

* * *

Smoker sat hunched over the map, only half-listening to the two officers who were trying to explain to him which direction was best to pursue the Straw-Hat Pirates. As the Straw-Hat Pirates had not been spotted since destroying his ship, Smoker could only assume that they had continued in the direction they had left in: but with changing winds and various islands of interest in the surrounding area, they might easily have changed course entirely.

As he tried to make reasonable assumptions about which directions the Straw-Hat Pirates would not have travelled in, Smoker slowly became aware of a shadow across the centre of the map. Turning his head, he saw Hina standing behind him, her arms folded across her chest, her eyes thinned to dangerous, dark slits.

"What are you doing?" she asked him quietly.

"Plotting a course," he said, frowning at her since the answer should have been obvious.

"I don't remember saying that you could have this ship, Smoker," she said sharply.

"Well I'm taking this one," Smoker flatly replied, turning his back on her again.

"You can't just take one of my ships," she spat at him.

"It's navy business, you can't refuse," Smoker plainly replied.

"You can't take my finest ship and my best crew," Hina warned him.

Smoker sighed, reaching into his trouser pocket.

"Fine then," he said, retrieving a coin. "We'll flip for it, shall we?"

Hina glowered at the coin balanced on the back of his thumb.

"You are so tiresome, Mister Smoker!" she snapped, snatching the coin from him. "Hina is very disappointed in you!"

Smoker watched her leave, before gladly turning back to the map. He did not particularly care how upset she was, just so long as she was still cooperating with his needs.

* * *

"Zoro!"

Zoro looked up at the sound of his name as he made his way to the deck of the ship, squinting against the bright sunlight.

"Zoro, I wondered if you might be free for a sparring session soon."

Zoro moved his eyes to Tashigi, staring at her blankly as he tried to figure out what she was talking about. As he thought about it, the memory of making a deal with her slowly crept back into his mind.

"Not right now," he told her frankly.

"Because you've just eaten, of course," she said, bowing her head politely.

"No, it's not that," he replied. "I need to take a shit and shave first."

Zoro scratched his fingers at the splattering of stubble across his chin to emphasise his point, since Tashigi appeared to look confused.

"You can go ahead and start a warm-up, if you want," Zoro added.

Turning his back on her and walking off, Zoro was torn between suffering through the day after drinking more than usual the night before and condescending to asking the chef for a cure for his discomfort. Although he would never openly admit it, Zoro knew only too well that Sanji did know the recipe for an excellent cure guaranteed to quickly erase the effects of drinking to excesses. However, upon hearing Sanji declare his undying love for Nami as he passed the kitchen, Zoro decided he would just suffer the hangover.

* * *

Tashigi stared at the swordsman, unsure if she ought to be horrified or amused. She had never heard the phrase "I need to take a shit and shave" uttered in her life, and she doubted she would ever hear it again. She watched him scratch at the dusting of stubble across his chin, apparently unaware of his own distinct lack of social grace.

"You can go ahead and start a warm-up if you want," he told her, before walking off and leaving her alone with his words still ringing around her head.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Tashigi looked down at her hip again, the sight of the empty sheath at her side making her increasingly depressed. She could not believe that she had lost her sword – and it had taken her some degree of time to remember just how she had lost it. Of course, it had been during her battle with Zoro onboard the navy ship. Zoro had knocked the sword from her hand and then crushed her glasses, crushing her hopes of finding her weapon again. And, she thought miserably, the ship had sunk, doubtlessly taking the remains of her glasses and her sword with it. The thought of her sword at the bottom of the ocean made her want to cry more than anything she had ever experienced in her life. Just looking at the empty scabbard made her throat constrict and tighten to unbearable levels.

And all the rest of her belongings would be on the seafloor too, she thought wryly. All her clothes, her coat, her gloves – everything, all gone. Tashigi briefly wondered what had become of Captain Smoker: after all, thanks to him having consumed a Devil Fruit, he would simply sink to the bottom of the sea and drown if he ever fell into the water. Tashigi had never actually witnessed Smoker in the sea to know just how bad it would be – but she had seen him become considerably weakened by seawater in the past on the odd occasion that he had been drenched in the stuff. She silently hoped that the other crewmembers had been as diligent as she always was, and remembered Captain Smoker's weakness, and were there to assist him as need be.

Tashigi paused, something slowly sinking in her stomach. During the storm, she had been pleading with who she had thought was Zoro to release Captain Smoker – did that then mean that she had, in fact, been pleading with Captain Smoker to spare Zoro's life? What would Captain Smoker think of her, begging him to spare the life of a pirate? Tashigi gasped, her heart thumping in her chest as her mind began to race. What if Captain Smoker had fallen into the water and drowned after she left the ship? She would be to blame for his death!

"Hey Takeshi, let's go."

Tashigi gripped at the railings of the ship, looking down at the water below, her eyes growing wider and wider as she found herself picturing Captain Smoker sinking slowly into the dark depths of the sea and drowning, his body lying alongside her rusting Shigure.

"Takeshi, come on!"

Tashigi began to feel her head spin, and she was forced to step back from the railings as she could no longer trust herself to keep her balance and not fall over into the water herself.

"Hey, Major Stupidity, do you want to train with me or not?"

Tashigi clasped a hand to her chest, the desperate thought that if Captain Smoker had perished, perhaps no-one would notice her gone, and she would be doomed to spend the rest of her life as a Straw-Hat Pirate.

"Takeshi!"

"Tashigi!" she roared, spinning around and almost bashing into Zoro.

"Right," he said slowly. "Are you ready?"

Tashigi stared blankly at Zoro for a moment her preoccupied mind taking longer than it should have to register just how close she was standing to him.

"Okay," she said lightly. "But obviously, I don't have a sword."

Tashigi grasped the redundant scabbard at her hip for emphasis, at which Zoro's eyes dropped downwards, before slowly trailing back up to hers.

"You can use my Yubashiri, it's the lightest sword I have," he offered.

"Right, thanks," Tashigi replied, nodding her head.

Tashigi waited for Zoro to say something or to at least move, but he did neither. He was standing so close to her, she could feel the heat off of his body, and she could see a small scarlet tear by his jaw-line where he had obviously nicked himself shaving.

"Maybe we ought to start off with your technique," he eventually said.

"Okay," Tashigi agreed, feeling a little wary that he still had not stepped back from her.

Tashigi wanted to scream when Zoro did not continue his thought, her mind slowly wandering to the proposition he had made to her the night before. Tashigi then found herself being the one to step back and turn away as her face began to burn.

"Here," Zoro said gruffly.

Tashigi shifted her eyes to peek at Zoro through her hair, marginally relieved to see that he was holding out his sword towards her. She turned towards him a little more, taking hold of the hilt in one hand. Zoro promptly released his hold of the sword, the sudden weight catching Tashigi off-guard. She heard Zoro growl out a displeased groan as his sword fell to the deck with a clatter.

"You're so damn uptight!" he muttered.

Tashigi hesitated, remembering that he had used those words the night before, her awkwardness multiplying. Feeling nervous, Tashigi knew her clumsiness would only become a bigger problem, and she tried to breath slowly and deeply, reaching to retrieve the sword. She looked up at Zoro as she picked it up, her eyes flitting down to his right hand, which was loosely cradling his other two swords.

"You need to relax a little more," he suggested as she slowly stood before him. "Be more fluid, you know? You're very tense and rigid when you hold a sword. Using a sword is like…"

Tashigi clutched the Yubashiri to her chest as she waited for Zoro to continue, inwardly questioning if she was doing the right thing, since her mind was completely tied up thinking about her poor lost Shigure, the fate of her commanding officer and reliving Zoro's drunken behaviour the night before.

"It's like dancing."

"Dancing?"

Tashigi tilted her head curiously as she watched Zoro waved a hand through the air as though he was trying to physically draw the thoughts out of his mind.

"Dancing, yes," he confirmed. "It's like performing a dance. A powerful dance. You need to be loose but strong, you need to have rhythm, balance, coordination and a good understanding of your partner."

Tashigi arched her eyebrows in mild surprise: she had not expected the ineloquent pirate to pull of such a cogent simile. She watched him place the Wado Ichimonji aside before withdrawing the Kitetsu.

"I'll make it easier for you, I'll only use one sword," he offered, pointing the tip of the blade in her direction.

"Okay," Tashigi agreed, drawing the Yubashiri. "That sounds fair."

She tested the weight of the sword in her hand, silently noting that, whilst it was very light, the balance of the weight was not quite where she would have liked it to be – but she refused to back down from either the challenge of fighting Zoro or the opportunity to hone her skills.

"A powerful dance, got it," she said with a nod of her head.

Tashigi had barely readied herself when Zoro came at her with as much vigour as he did when they had fought in the past, leaving her wondering if he was remembering that this was meant to be a training session. Or, she thought desperately as she fended him off, perhaps Zoro did not know how to take things easy when it came to using his swords.

* * *

"What the hell are you two doing?" Smoker demanded, scowling at the two idiot officers prancing around in circles in front of him.

"We're learning a new dance to show Captain Hina how much we admire her!" the one named Fullbody replied.

"Do you want to dance, Captain Smoker?" the one named Jango asked.

Smoker stared blankly at the ex-pirate as he leapt forwards, dangling an odd little metal ring in front of his face.

"What is this?" he asked quietly, pointing at the object; which – in his opinion – was sharp and looked more like a weapon than something a junior officer could be trusted with.

"Instead of telling you, why don't I just show you?" Jango offered, waving a hand around mystically. "The power of the dance will be yours!"

"Shut-up and get back to work," Smoker snapped, grabbing the ring from his hands.

"You shouldn't under-estimate the power of the dance!" Jango warned him.

"And you shouldn't under-estimate the power of my fist, now get back to work!" Smoker growled.

Jango began to skulk away from him at last, muttering complaints under his breath. Smoker shook his head in despair, opening out his hand to inspect the ring for himself. Just as he had suspected, the metal was sharp, and had left hairline lacerations in his palm. With every passing hour, Smoker was becoming more convinced that Hina had gone insane. She had always been a little unorthodox, but some of the things he had witnessed since their crews had merged and taken off in pursuit of the Straw-Hat Pirates were simply bizarre.

Closing his fingers carefully over the metal ring, Smoker looked up, finding Jango standing on the upper deck, tying something to a piece of rope. Curiosity getting the better of him, Smoker watched as the idiot turned around, holding the rope up and allowing the attached item to dangle down. Smoker took two steps forward, planting his hands on his hips expectantly as he watched to see just what Jango intended to do with an old barrel lid tied to a piece of rope.

"One…" he said loudly, drawing the attention of everyone around him as he began to swing the rope back and forth. "Two… JANGO!"

* * *

Zoro stopped himself, stepping back as he patiently allowed Tashigi to rest for a moment. She was quite skilled, he silently admitted, but not nearly disciplined enough or confident enough to be a serious threat to him. And, despite his best efforts to get her to focus, she still appeared to be distracted, as if something mortifying was weighing on her mind.

"I'm-I'm sorry," she said breathlessly.

"Five more minutes and we're done," Zoro warned her.

"Are you taking my resting time off of our training session?" she asked.

"Of course I am!" Zoro quickly replied. "We agreed twenty minutes, I can't waste my own time just because you're can't keep up with me!"

To Zoro's surprise, the girl nodded her head, wincing slightly as she tried to straighten her back. As Zoro watched her try to fight off her exhaustion, he became aware of something blue and white moving in the water off one side of the ship. Casually lifting his head, Zoro started in alarm at the sight of a navy ship, heading for them.

"Hey Luffy!" he yelled. "Luffy!"

Zoro frowned as he located Luffy, standing in between Usopp and Nami, who were all having a hushed argument about something. Turning to Tashigi and finding her still doubled over and useless, Zoro then made his way over to the others, helping himself to a pair of binoculars sat nearby and training them onto the navy ship.

"Zoro!" Nami hissed as the ship came into focus before his eyes. "Zoro, you have to hide Tashigi!"

Zoro stared, unblinkingly, barely able to believe what he was seeing.

"But Smokey is after us too!" Usopp pointed out. "I say we put Tashigi in a lifeboat and get out of here!"

"No!" Nami hissed. "We have to protect Tashigi!"

"Protect Tashigi?" Luffy echoed. "From what? That's her crew, isn't it?"

"Luffy, could you be any more stupid?" Nami growled. "Zoro, you understand, right? If Tashigi sees that, she'll go crazy! Get her below the deck, and keep her there until they've passed!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Zoro asked loudly, lowering the binoculars to look at Nami. "I don't see the problem. Smokey's on that ship, he must be looking for Tashigi. I agree with Usopp, put her off the ship and let the navy take care of her."

"Zoro, did you even see what they're doing on that ship?" Nami snapped.

"Yeah, they're dancing!" Zoro replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Looks like they're having fun, I'm sure General Disaster will be happy to go back to them."

Nami began to grind her teeth, snarling out an animalistic noise of frustration. Zoro could not understand why she was so concerned – unless of course her money-oriented mind thought they ought to hold Tashigi for a ransom after all. Zoro turned his head at the sound of the girl in question joining them, watching as she squinted at the ship desperately.

"Here," he said, handing her the binoculars he held.

"Zoro!" Nami snarled, stamping a foot at him.

Zoro shrugged his shoulders at her, at which she began waving her hands about as though trying to speak to him in some odd form of sign language, which eventually ended with her jabbing a finger in Tashigi's direction. Turning back to the marine, Zoro saw she was holding the binoculars a short distance from her eyes, and she looked as though had just seen a ghost.

"What the hell's her problem?" he asked anyone who cared to listen, frowning as Nami rolled her eyes at him.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** An unusual salute, a stolen kiss and waking up in someone else's arms with no idea how it happened: sadness, confusion, but above all, unrestrained anger… **Chapter 10 – A Woman Scorned**.


	10. A Woman Scorned

**Recap:** Zoro and Tashigi began training/sparring together, Smoker lost his patience with Jango who appeared to be doing something strange, and the navy caught up to the Straw-Hats.

* * *

 **Chapter 10 – A Woman Scorned**

Tashigi looked up, dragging a hand across her forehead to clear the sweat that had gathered, yelping indignantly as she saw that Zoro had walked away from her. Was this his latest way of telling her that their sparring session was over? Remembering that he had told her they still had five minutes, and feeling determined not to waste a single second longer, Tashigi straightened up, holding her head high, and marched across the ship to where she could see the fuzzy green splodge of Zoro's hair.

"…General Disaster will be happy to go back to them," she heard Zoro's voice say as she joined them.

Reading between the lines of Zoro's insult, Tashigi suddenly felt a rush of joy, and, looking out to sea, her suspicions were confirmed; she could see the blurry outline of a blue and white ship heading towards them.

"Here," Zoro offered, handing her a pair of binoculars.

"Zoro!" Nami yelled, stamping a foot.

Tashigi frowned at the navigator for a brief moment before gladly lifting the binoculars to her eyes and hurriedly focusing them on the ship ahead. The binoculars gave her a clear picture of the navy insignia, and as she lowered her view a little, she could see the deck of the ship was littered with marines in standard issues uniforms, the sight making her tearful with joy. Scanning over the marines, Tashigi began to frown slightly, surprised to find that they all appeared to be dancing. And, she thought to herself, they were all dancing in step with each other, making their actions particularly odd. Moving over them, Tashigi paused at two officers in plain clothes, one of whom looked vaguely familiar. She studied him for a moment before she recognised his face as that of a very contemptuous and arrogant Second Lieutenant she had met previously. Was his name Fullbody?

Moving on, Tashigi scanned over another couple in plain clothes before returning to more marines in uniform. Tashigi froze, something inside of her snapping. Slowly, she panned back to the second couple without uniforms, her jaw dropping and a silent gasp drying her throat at what she saw. At first, she could hardly believe that the man she was looking at was in fact Captain Smoker – after all, this man was smiling. But, the longer she lingered on him, the harder it became in Tashigi's mind to either deny that it was her commanding officer, or to find any logical reasoning for what he was doing.

Captain Smoker was dancing, he was smiling and he was holding Captain Hina in his arms; and he was not even smoking.

"What the hell's her problem?"

Tashigi slowly lowered the binoculars, moving her eyes to Zoro. He looked at her innocently for a brief second before recoiling from her fearfully. Tashigi slowly moved her eyes to Nami, who was forcing an awkward smile and apparently trying to talk, although no sound was leaving her mouth. Tashigi turned her attention back to the sea, watching as the navy ship drew closer, and the joyous dancing marines became visible to her without the need for binoculars.

"Hi Smokey!"

Tashigi turned, her eyebrows shooting upwards as she watched Luffy wave his arms above his head. Turning back to the navy ship, Tashigi forgot how to breathe as she found her captain waving back, Hina still clinging to him, and the obnoxious grin still present on his face. Tashigi felt her insides buzzing, her surroundings becoming surreal and distant, her hand opening to drop the binoculars. As the binoculars banged against the deck, Tashigi heard Usopp mutter out something about being more careful before bending down to retrieve them.

"What did you just say?" she growled, pointing the tip of Zoro's sword at the boy's extremely long nose as he tried to stand once more.

"Nothing…" he said slowly, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"I heard you say something," Tashigi said darkly, her voice sounding like a stranger to even her own ears. "If you have something to say to me, you needle-nosed, cowardly liar, you say it to my face."

"Oh Tashigi, don't get mad at Usopp!" Nami pleaded with her.

Tashigi swung her arm sharply upwards, pointing the blade at Nami's throat.

"Do you want to try me now, you money-grabbing pirate girl?" she asked.

"I wasn't looking for a fight!" Nami hurriedly replied.

"No you weren't," Tashigi said quietly. "Just interfering again."

"Ladies, what's going on out here?" Sanji asked as he joined the group. "Hey, what are those sailors doing?"

"Well if it isn't the slimy pervert!" Tashigi snapped, turning the sword to Sanji.

"Whoa!" Sanji said, holding up both hands.

"And the little fur-ball, hiding behind a barrel again!" Tashigi yelled, pointing her sword at a barrel as Chopper disappeared behind it. "Don't think I can't see you! And you!"

Robin started as Tashigi pointed the sword at her, her eyes growing wider as she spotted the navy ship passing them.

"You're the biggest scoundrel of them all!" Tashigi yelled.

"Do me next!" Luffy cried cheerfully, clapping his hands.

"You, Straw-Hat?" Tashigi roared, spinning around to point the sword at him. "The rubber-man? You could have eaten any Devil Fruit in this world, you could have gained control of the elements, transformed your physical being, but what did you do? You ate the Gum Gum Fruit! Gum Gum for the dumb dumb!"

Luffy laughed, pointing at her.

"Gum Gum for the dumb dumb, you're so funny!" he said.

"Why give up the ability to swim, why risk death by the sea, just to be able to do this with your face?" Tashigi yelled, before hooking one finger into one corner of her mouth and pulling her cheek outwards. "It's not a power, it's just puerile!"

"Hey, look, your crew are here, so maybe now would be a good time for you to just go back to them," Zoro suggested.

"You!" Tashigi snarled, rounding on him. "You are the worst of them all! Look at you! You carry a sword in your mouth, what is wrong with you? You are the worst man I have ever met in my life! You, single-handedly, have ruined the honourable name of the swordsman, and you don't deserve to carry the Wado Ichimonji, you're not worthy of it!"

"Hey, back off!" Zoro snapped back. "There's your ship, get back to it! If you need any help, I'll gladly throw you into the water – which, by the way, is what I wanted to do with you in the first place! It wasn't my idea to let you stay!"

"Well good, because I don't want to stay anyway!"

Tashigi turned around, finding that the navy ship was almost completely past them; but she could still see the fuzzy image of Captain Smoker spinning Captain Hina around in his arms.

"Oi Chase!" she yelled, running to the stern of the ship. "Here's your salute, Sir!"

Leaping up onto the railings at the very back of the ship, Tashigi threw Zoro's sword down to the deck and thrust both arms up in the air, extending her middle fingers at the navy ship as it slowly drifted away from her.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Tashigi looked over her shoulder to see that the Straw-Hat Pirates had all gathered behind her, with Zoro at the front of the group.

"They left me here," she said slowly, lowering her arms and turning to face him. "They just left me here, with pirates! And my Shigure is lying dead at the bottom of the ocean, I can't take this any more!"

Tashigi turned back to the water and threw herself forwards, diving off the back of the ship. She had no idea how far they were from where her ship had sunk, but she felt confident that if she swam for long enough, she would eventually find her Shigure – it could only have sunk to the seafloor.

* * *

"Hi Smokey!" Luffy called out, waving his arms above his head.

Zoro tensed at his captain's rash actions, but, to his utter amazement, the typically moody and tenacious marine began waving back, grinning at Luffy as though they were the oldest of friends. Zoro toyed with the idea that the man might be drunk – but it did seem a little odd that the entire crew of marines were all acting the same way, and none of them seemed in the least concerned that they were passing a pirate ship. The sound of something dropping to the deck of the ship brought Zoro's attention back to Tashigi with a start, the look on her face warning him that she was evidently not pleased with what was happening.

"What did you just say?" she growled out suddenly, pointing the tip of Zoro's Yubashiri at Usopp's nose, her eyes suddenly sparkling with rage.

"Nothing…" Usopp warily replied.

"I heard you say something," Tashigi said. "If you have something to say to me, you needle-nosed, cowardly liar, you say it to my face."

"Oh Tashigi, don't get mad at Usopp!" Nami pleaded with her.

Zoro gasped as Tashigi swung her arm sharply upwards, pointing the blade at Nami's throat.

"Do you want to try me now, you money-grabbing pirate girl?" she asked.

"I wasn't looking for a fight!" Nami hurriedly replied.

"No you weren't," Tashigi said quietly. "Just interfering again."

"Ladies, what's going on out here?" Sanji asked as he joined the group. "Hey, what are those sailors doing?"

"Well if it isn't the slimy pervert!" Tashigi snapped, turning the sword to Sanji.

"Whoa!" Sanji said, holding up both hands.

"And the little fur-ball, hiding behind a barrel again!" Tashigi yelled, pointing her sword at a barrel as Chopper disappeared behind it. "Don't think I can't see you! And you!"

Zoro leaned forward to see Robin moving to join them, watching her stumble to a halt as Tashigi threatened her with the sword.

"You're the biggest scoundrel of them all!" Tashigi yelled.

"Do me next!" Luffy cried cheerfully, clapping his hands.

Zoro cringed, wondering just how stupid his captain could get – although he was still unsure why the girl was getting so upset and angry. After all, her beloved Captain Smoker had just returned, and he looked like he was having fun. Surely she should want to go and join him?

"You, Straw-Hat?" Tashigi roared, spinning around to point the sword at him. "The rubber-man? You could have eaten any Devil Fruit in this world, you could have gained control of the elements, transformed your physical being, but what did you do? You ate the Gum Gum Fruit! Gum Gum for the dumb dumb!"

Luffy laughed, pointing at her.

"Gum Gum for the dumb dumb, you're so funny!" he said.

"Why give up the ability to swim, why risk death by the sea, just to be able to do this with your face?" Tashigi yelled, before hooking one finger into one corner of her mouth and pulling her cheek outwards. "It's not a power, it's just puerile!"

"Hey, look, your crew are here, so maybe now would be a good time for you to just go back to them," Zoro suggested to her, deciding not to wait any longer, as the navy ship would soon be past them completely.

"You!" Tashigi snarled, rounding on him. "You are the worst of them all! Look at you! You carry a sword in your mouth, what is wrong with you? You are the worst man I have ever met in my life! You, single-handedly, have ruined the honourable name of the swordsman, and you don't deserve to carry the Wado Ichimonji, you're not worthy of it!"

"Hey, back off!" Zoro snapped back, finding the remark about him being unworthy to carry a sword he had fought and begged for to be a little below the belt. "There's your ship, get back to it! If you need any help, I'll gladly throw you into the water – which, by the way, is what I wanted to do with you in the first place! It wasn't my idea to let you stay!"

"Well good, because I don't want to stay anyway!" she moodily replied, turning her back on them.

Zoro rolled his eyes, hoping that she would just fall overboard. Captain Smoker was sure to collect her and then life onboard the Going Merry could finally return to normal; or at least, as normal as life with the Straw-Hat Pirates could be.

"Oi Chase! Here's your salute, Sir!"

Zoro baulked as he watched Tashigi run to the stern of the ship and leap up onto the railings. Once there she threw down Zoro's sword and thrust both arms up in the air, extending her middle fingers at the navy ship as it slowly drifted away from her.

"Oh she didn't just do that!" Robin gasped.

"She did," Zoro growled, marching after her. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

She looked back over her shoulder at him, her eyes moving a little to acknowledge the rest of the crew as they joined Zoro behind her.

"They left me here," she said quietly, lowering her arms and turning to face Zoro directly. "They just left me here, with pirates! And my Shigure is lying dead at the bottom of the ocean, I can't take this any more!"

Zoro watched, dumbfounded, as the girl turned around again and jumped off the ship, attempted to dive into the water but managing little more than a loud and painful-looking bellyflop.

"Shit!" Sanji gasped, rushing to the railings and leaning over. "Hey Tashigi, are you alright down there?" he called to her as she resurfaced.

"Leave me alone, creep!" she yelled back, before dipping under the water and swimming away from the ship.

"Does she think she can catch that ship of sailors?" Sanji asked the others.

"She's upset, you idiot!" Nami snapped. "She just saw her whole crew celebrating without her, and none of them even cared that she was with us and looking for their help! Zoro!"

"What?" Zoro yelped, turning to face her.

"What are you waiting for?" Nami yelled, slapping his shoulder. "Get in there after her!"

"What?" Zoro wailed. "Are you out of your mind? Why should I go in there after her? She threw herself in, she can get herself out again!"

"You have to rescue her because it's your fault she's in this mess in the first place, idiot!" Nami argued back.

"She doesn't need "rescuing"," Zoro spat. "Let the marines "rescue" her! If she's such a fantastic marine, she'll be able to swim for as long she needs to."

"How could you do that to a lady, Marimo?" Sanji yelled at him.

"She did it to herself!" Zoro indignantly shot back, pointing down at the water.

Sanji arched his eyebrows at Zoro, the look on his face suggesting something sinister. Zoro turned to look over the edge of the ship, finding Tashigi thrashing about in the water, gulping down water and waving her arms about desperately. She should, he thought, be an excellent swimmer; but he suspected that, between her unstable emotional state and being caught in the crosscurrents of the two ships passing each other, she was not as strong as she ought to be.

"Damn it all!" Zoro grumbled, dropping his Kitetsu to the deck and pouncing up onto the railings.

With one last sigh of despair, Zoro dove into the water, finding himself a little taken aback at just how rough the waters between the two ships were. Fighting to keep his balance he swam over to Tashigi, Zoro narrowly avoiding a blow as she swung an arm around in the direction of his head as she fought the waves to stay above water.

"Hey, stop it!" he yelled at her. "Just come with me, you'll be fine."

Struggling against the waves, she turned to glower at him.

"Just come with you?" she yelped out breathlessly. "Just go with you, and be a pirate?"

"No, just shut-up and get out of the water before you drown!" Zoro sighed impatiently.

"I can't!" she replied. "I have to find my Shigure!"

"Your… Didn't you leave your sword on your ship?"

"Yes."

"Which means it sank with the ship."

"I know. That's why I have to swim to find it."

"Do you have any idea how far away we are from where your ship sank? Do you even know which direction to go to get back there?"

"I don't care, I have to find my Shigure!"

"Look, forget the Shigure–"

"How can you say such a heartless thing? Could you forget the Wado Ichimonji?"

Zoro rolled his eyes, thinking silently that there was no comparison between the two swords – the Wado Ichimonji was Kuina's gift to him after she passed on, a symbol of his life's work and dreams. The sword Tashigi had was probably just some ornamental gift Smoker had given her when he was trying to woo her.

"Come on back to the ship," he said quietly, grabbing one of her arms and reaching the other hand under the water to wrap it around her stomach.

"What are you doing?" she screamed at him.

"Something I know I'm going to live to regret: I'm saving your life," Zoro grumbled, kicking his legs out to swim backwards, dragging Tashigi with him.

"I don't want to be a Straw-Hat Pirate!" she wailed.

"Nobody wants you to be a Straw-Hat Pirate," Zoro assured her.

"They left me behind!" she added.

"Well, maybe it's for the best."

"But why?"

Zoro groaned, wishing that she would stop talking and use her energy to swim back to the ship, instead of leaning her weight against him and leaving him to drag her back. Although, Zoro thought to himself as they neared the Going Merry, she did have a good point: it was inexplicably odd that the marines had just passed them by, waved and smiled at them, and done nothing to either recover Tashigi or try to arrest or kill the Straw-Hat Pirates. Marines were always doing things that Zoro could not explain or understand, but he had been convinced that, just as Luffy had said before, Tashigi was Smoker's little woman, and so surely he wanted her back?

"Come on, grab onto the ladder," he said, pulling Tashigi towards the rope ladder that led up the side of the ship.

To his relief, she did take hold of the ladder in her hands.

"Come on, start climbing!" he added, nudging her in the back with his elbow.

He saw her shoulders slouch a little as she paused, looking off in the direction of the navy ship, which was rapidly diminishing on the horizon. Turning back to the Going Merry, she began to slowly climb the ladder at last. Zoro waited patiently for her, even though she was moving at a ridiculously slow rate, following her carefully, watching for any signs of her falling down onto his head – which he strongly suspected might happen.

"Tashigi!" Nami called over the edge.

Zoro paused, watching as his crew began reaching for the girl, offering to help her back on board. Had he missed something? Why were they all fussing over one of their worst enemies? And at his expense!

"Tashigi, beautiful, what were you thinking jumping into the water like that?" Sanji asked her as she accepted his hand, allowing him to help her back onto the deck.

She muttered something in reply that failed to reach Zoro's ears as he finished ascending the ladder.

"Let's get you dried off and into some new clothes," Robin offered, moving to put an arm around her shoulders.

"Don't touch me!" Tashigi snapped at her. "Just leave me alone! All of you!"

Zoro dropped onto the deck of the ship once more, watching as Tashigi marched off to the bow of the ship, her arms huddled around herself as the wind pressed against her. Glancing around the others, Zoro saw them all watching him expectantly. He sighed, hanging his head in resignation.

"Leave it to me," he reluctantly offered.

* * *

Tashigi reached shaking hands up to her hair, squeezing it desperately as she tried to remove the excess water. She wanted to cry, but she flatly refused to show such weakness around pirates, of all people. Shivering involuntarily, she began clawing her fingers through her hair and squeezing desperately at the ends, silently questioning if she was shaking from the cold, from her utter despair or from her fear of being stuck with the Straw Hat Pirates for the rest of her life.

"Here," a voice said gruffly, as something smacked against the back of her head.

Tashigi started to turn to question what was happening, but the sudden sensation of fingertips pressing against her head through a towel made her stiffen.

"I can't let you catch pneumonia and die," she heard Zoro say from beyond the towel he had thrown over her head and shoulders. "I want the bounty on my head to go up because of my reputation as the greatest swordsman in the world, not because I let some marine captain's little lady die of the cold."

"What?" Tashigi echoed, reaching up to flip the towel up off of her face. "What did you just call me?"

Zoro frowned down at her curiously, his fingers still pressed against her head.

"I didn't call you anything," he eventually answered.

"You called me "little lady"!" she argued.

"I didn't mean it if I did," he calmly replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Tashigi paused, wondering if she was simply paranoid, as that had always been the moniker Smoker had given her when he had been looking to torment her for some reason or another.

"I'm fine thanks," she said, stepping out from under Zoro's touch.

To her surprise, Zoro grabbed the ends of the towel and lunged forwards, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her back flush against his chest.

"I meant what I said," he said quietly, his voice suddenly very close to her ear, the feeling of his warm breath against the damp skin on her neck making her shudder. "I can't let you get ill. We'll get you back to Smokey, just hold on a little longer."

"Maybe I don't want to go back to Smokey," Tashigi bitterly replied, turning to look at Zoro.

Tashigi gasped involuntarily as her actions caused her nose to brush against Zoro's. She felt her eyes widen as she suddenly realised that she was in his arms and her face was almost touching his. She saw his eyes slowly move to her lips, lingering there for a moment before moving upwards to once more look directly into her eyes. Tashigi lifted her chin slightly, at which Zoro tilted his head, his lips lightly brushing against hers. Tashigi yelped in alarm, pushing his arms off of her and running away from him, heading to the one place she knew he would not follow her – the women's quarters.

Once she was back in the women's room, Tashigi slammed the door shut behind her, pressing her back against it as she fought to regulate her breathing.

'What just happened?' she thought desperately. 'Was that a kiss? Did I kiss him, or did he kiss me? Oh my!'

Tashigi closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the door, the memory of Zoro's warmth and closeness replaying in her mind. To her utter horror, as she relived the memory, she felt an odd rush in her chest.

"What is wrong with me?" she whispered, staggering over to her hammock and gladly sitting into it. "What is this feeling?"

* * *

Smoker groaned, twitching awake at the sensation of something bashing against his inner thigh. Opening his eyes, the first sight he was greeted with was the sky. Frowning in confusion, he turned to one side, finding himself on the deck of the ship, several other marines lying asleep a short distance from him. Turning to his other side, Smoker found the reason he had awoken the way he had: Hina was lying at his side, one leg wrapped over his left leg and one arm draped across his chest, her head resting on his bicep.

"What the hell?" he growled, hurriedly pushing her aside and scrambling to his feet.

He groaned involuntarily as he stood, suddenly distinctly aware of aches in his legs and arms that he was sure he had not felt before. He instinctively touched his right hand to his left arm, expecting to find a supply of cigars; and it was only then that he realised he was not wearing any clothes from the waist up. Turning on the spot he saw Hina curl up into a ball at his feet.

"Hey!" he barked at her, nudging her legs with the toe of one boot. "Get up!"

She moaned softly, arching her neck and twisting her body a little before settling back down.

"Hina!" he yelled, nudging her a little harder.

She slowly opened her eyes, lifting her head to look at his foot hovering by her knees.

"Oh charming!" she spat, growling out a sigh and slowly rising to her feet. "Ow! My legs, my arms, my head!"

"What happened here?" Smoker demanded as she staggered to gain her balance in front of him.

"Well…" Hina began, flicking back a curtain of pink hair to slowly look around the deck of the ship. "Oh. Hina knows exactly what just happened. Wake the other officers, Mister Smoker, Hina will take care of this!"

Smoker quirked an eyebrow at her as she marched off a little stiffly, leaving him feeling no less enlightened as to what was happening. Feeling irritable and confused, he dug his hands into his trouser pockets in the hope of finding a spare cigar, something to take the edge off the tension. In one pocket he found a lighter, and in the other he found something sharp. Plucking the sharp object from his pocket, Smoker brought it round in front of his face, studying it carefully. It was the sharp, shiny metal ring dangling on a string that he had confiscated from Jango earlier. Watching it swing back and forth, winking in the sunlight, Smoker found his mind wandering to Jango climbing to the upper deck of the ship and dangling down a barrel lid on the end of a rope. Thinking more on the matter, the last thing Smoker could remember before waking up on the deck of the ship was Jango saying the words "one, two, Jango".

"Idiot," he muttered, flinging the metal ring over the side of the ship. "Get up! Wake up! Get up!"

Walking towards the bow of the ship, Smoker shamelessly kicked at the sleeping bodies around him, barking out orders as he went. Behind him he heard the officers slowly arise, groaning in much the same way he and Hina both had, as they too were apparently suffering from pained limbs. But Smoker's biggest concern was that, since no-one appeared to be monitoring the situation, perhaps they had been blown off-course. At the bow of the ship Smoker found a compass, grabbing it up and aiming it in the direction the ship was facing, relieved to see that they were still travelling southwest as had been agreed.

Smoker took a moment to look out to sea in every direction, cursing to himself when he saw nothing but rocks and a small merchant ship on the horizon. Marching back across the deck, waking more marines as he passed, Smoker made his way below deck to his own quarters, closing himself in and shortly locating a box of cigars. He gladly took one out, replacing the box and reaching for the lighter in his pocket. As he bit down onto the cigar, Smoker's eyes landed on an item laid on his bed, his hand slipping from his pocket without the lighter. Walking over to the bed, he gingerly untied the string wound around the pile of linen, opening out the material to reveal the Shigure.

"Tashigi," he said with a sigh, dragging one finger along the flat side of the blade. "Where are you now, my little lady?"

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Zoro tries to console Tashigi, Tashigi tries to understand Zoro, and Smoker is less than impressed when he learns about Tashigi's special salute. **Chapter 11 – Lessons of the Past**.


	11. Lessons of the Past

**Recap:** Tashigi was furious when she saw Smoker dancing with Hina and apparently not caring that she was stuck with pirates, Zoro showed her a little compassion and a little passion, and Smoker woke up with no idea what had just happened.

* * *

 **Chapter 11 – Lessons of the Past**

Finishing his dinner, Zoro became increasingly aware that Tashigi had not reappeared since she had run away from him earlier. It was growing dark outside and despite Robin calling on her and Nami going to attempt to coach her out twice, Tashigi still had not shown her face, even for dinner. Zoro briefly wondered if this was a result of something he might have done or said; but he quickly dismissed the idea again. After all, the only thing he had done was to bring her a towel and try to stop her from falling ill. Zoro's mind began to wander off, showing images of Tashigi falling ill, Luffy taking her pathetic form back to Smoker and Smoker losing his temper and smashing Luffy over the head with his jutte.

Deciding that such thoughts were neither healthy nor constructive, Zoro pushed his plate aside and stood from the table, moving quickly before anyone could call him back. Taking long, brisk strides, Zoro headed directly to the women's quarters, the one logical place Tashigi could have been hiding for so long. He knocked on the door, leaning one ear close to the wood to listen for a response. When she did not answer within a few seconds he knocked again, rapping his knuckles harder against the wood.

"Tashigi?" he called.

He waited another few seconds before pushing open the door and sticking his head into the room.

"Hey, Tashigi?"

Looking around the room, Zoro could not see Tashigi, or even any sign that anyone had recently been in the room.

"Damn girl!" he cursed, turning on his heel and heading up onto the deck, silently hoping that she had not decided to dive into the water again, like the idiot that she was.

Jogging around the deck, Zoro eventually heard a noise near the stern, and as he headed towards it, Tashigi came into sight, sat crouched over something. Continuing towards her, Zoro stumbled to a halt as she turned her head sharply in his direction and gasped in shock. Zoro froze, his eyes on the item cradled in her hands.

"I thought we made a deal," he said quietly, pointing at the unsheathed Wado Ichimonji resting on her upturned palms.

"I-I'm so sorry Zoro!" she said hurriedly. "I just-I-I just had to see it!"

Zoro slowly eyed her over, the urge to grab his treasured sword back lessening as she looked up at him with childish fear in her eyes, looking just like Kuina, and making the sword seem as though it was in the hands of its truest master.

"It's just so beautiful…" she added meekly, gently placing the sword down on the deck next to its scabbard.

She smoothly rose to her feet, turning to look at Zoro, chewing on her lower lip as she frowned up at him with watery eyes.

"I'm sorry, I know I promised not to touch it ever again," she said faintly.

"And you lied," Zoro replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Isn't lying a pirate's business? What sort of marine can't keep their end of a simple deal?"

To Zoro's absolute horror, Tashigi blurted out a strange noise, clamping a hand over her mouth and swiftly spinning on her heels to turn her back to him. Again, Zoro reflected on what he had just said, but again could find nothing wrong. Tashigi made another noise that sounded worryingly like a sob to Zoro, her shoulders shuddering as the sound left her throat.

"You're right," she said faintly. "What sort of marine am I?"

Zoro pulled a face at her, silently wondering if he would ever understand women – surely she realised he had not meant her to take his every word so literally?

"Obviously not a very good one," she continued, her voice breaking a little. "Since my commanding officer was celebrating finally getting rid of me, and didn't even bother trying to rescue me from the pirate ship he could see I was stuck on!"

Zoro slowly thought over Tashigi's words, casting his mind back to when she had first looked through Usopp's binoculars at the navy ship. She had looked horrified, and had started acting crazy afterwards, threatening everyone, sending an offensive "salute" to her commanding officer and finally jumping into the ocean in search of a sword she had lost miles back. Women tended to think in a bizarre and irrational way, Zoro thought to himself, so obviously this had something to do with Tashigi and Smoker's relationship. Thinking harder on the matter, Zoro remembered seeing a very attractive, tall, slender woman in Smoker's arms. She had been very attractive, Zoro thought with a small smile. In fact, he thought slyly, he could understand why Smoker looked so pleased with himself, holding onto such a woman.

"I've been so stupid!" Tashigi croaked out, awakening Zoro from his thoughts.

"What?" he echoed.

"I was so stupid… And now look at me! Without the navy to tell me what to do, I'm a total wreck!"

Zoro blinked at the back of her head curiously, the sound of another sniffle warning him that he needed to act soon to stop her from bursting into a hysterical fit of tears.

"That's not true," he began slowly. "Because even without the navy, you still have your dream."

"My what?" she muttered, casting him a sideward glance over her shoulder.

Zoro noticed a tear stain on her cheek, the sight of it forcing his mind to step up a gear.

"Your dream," he said firmly. "You still have your dream. Without you and all your hard work, who will be there to reclaim the world's finest swords from the clutches of evil?"

Zoro tensed as he repeated his own words inside his head, feeling distinctly aware that he had been a little too over-dramatic.

"But…" she said softly. "I'm not very good at it…"

"Then work harder and get better at it!" Zoro quickly replied. "You mustn't give up! That's not the attitude to have!"

"I guess not," she agreed, sniffling and dipping her chin, hiding her face from his view.

Zoro leaned slightly to one side, watching a teardrop inflate on her chin before falling to her feet.

"We'll get you back to the marines," he tried, softening his voice in the hope of sounding sympathetic.

"I don't want to go back," she said shakily.

"Of course you do!" Zoro said dismissively.

"I don't belong there any more!"

Zoro bit his tongue to stop himself from pointing out that she blatantly did not belong with a crew of pirates either, least of all his crew.

"I can't do it on my own," she continued, turning to face Zoro, but keeping her head down. "I-I always had Captain Smoker to help me, I'm not strong enough on my own. My father was right. He told me when I was young that I could never be as strong as a man, and he was right. I've only been strong before because I've had Captain Smoker there to help me when things got too difficult for me."

Zoro growled in frustration, silently wondering how many times he would have to listen to similar speeches whilst looking at Kuina's face.

"That's not true," he said. "You don't need Smokey, you can achieve your dreams just fine on your own."

She shook her head, another drop landing on the deck.

"Listen to me!" Zoro said firmly, grabbing her shoulders as he spoke. "You can do anything you want to, you just have to believe."

She slowly lifted her eyes, looking up through her hair at him questioningly.

"You can," he insisted.

She dropped her chin again, her face disappearing from Zoro's view behind her hair. Her shoulders shook in his hands as she began to sob. A sudden rush surged up through Zoro's chest, and before he could stop himself or even think about his actions, he had grabbed the girl against his chest, holding her in a tight embrace. Within seconds he began to feel the wetness of her tears through his vest, but the odd need to hold her close remained.

* * *

Tashigi slowly withdrew the Wado Ichimonji, smiling as the blade lit up under the light of the setting sun. It truly was a masterpiece of craftsmanship, and probably the most beautiful, elegant and honourable sword she had ever had the pleasure to see up close. It was, she thought bitterly, immensely too graceful and wondrous for a scoundrel like Roronoa Zoro. It was not a sword she would ever consider keeping or using herself: it was much too fine and she could not entrust such an excellent sword to such a clumsy hand as her own. As she watched the blade gleam before her eyes, Tashigi began to feel an overwhelming sadness gripping her. She slowly lowered the sword, her mind wandering back to the sight of a navy ship passing her by at a painfully slow speed, her captain and what looked like most of his crew all dancing and celebrating. They had never danced or celebrated anything when she had been on a ship with them: was it possible that they had been celebrating getting rid of her?

Gently laying the flat side of the blade against her upturned palms, Tashigi lifted the famous Wado Ichimonji closer to her face, catching her own reflection in the metal. Her first thought was that she looked so entirely awful, her captain and crew probably had not even recognised her. Her hair was matted and unkempt, she was paler than usual, but still had pink blotches on her cheeks, forehead and nose where she had mild sunburn. Without her glasses she did, in her opinion, look like a child, which only made her all the more unrecognisable. She was still in her own clothes, having decided not to accept the offer of clothes from the female pirates. Tashigi's logic for not dressing in their clothes had simply been that she did not want to look like a pirate; but currently, she thought miserably, she looked more like a common bandit, and looking like a pirate was suddenly a much more desirable option.

Although the sight of all the marines dancing had been an odd one that Tashigi had yet to fathom, the most unusual and inexplicable thing had been seeing Captain Smoker waving at Straw-Hat Luffy. Ever since he had escaped Captain Smoker in Loguetown, Straw-Hat Luffy had been all that the marine captain had spoken about. When Tashigi had fist met Captain Smoker, he had told her that he prided himself on being posted in Loguetown, because he was stopping countless pirates from entering the Grand Line. But Straw-Hat had been a big enough force to make Captain Smoker abandon his post without a second thought, and yet he had simply grinned and waved when his sworn enemy sailed past him.

Tashigi began to wonder if Captain Smoker had secretly wanted rid of her so badly, he was actually going to let Straw-Hat walk free because his crew had taken her off his hands. Maybe, Tashigi thought fearfully, that was the reason for everything strange that had happened to and around her lately. Maybe Captain Smoker had wanted rid of her because she was useless, and now he had decided to merge his crew with Captain Hina's to allow them to spend more time together. Thinking more and more about the matter, paranoia began to chew at Tashigi's common sense: Smoker and Hina had been laughing and dancing when they saw her with the Straw-Hat Pirates, and in the past when she had walked in on the two of them in conversation, their behaviour had usually been as joyous and playful. Tashigi narrowed her eyes, memories of being alone with Smoker and Hina replaying in her mind.

Tashigi had always considered Hina to be a nice lady – a little eccentric and extremely ambitious, but always polite and kind. She had always said nice things to Tashigi, and so Tashigi had never found any reason to dislike the woman. Smoker had occasionally passed light insults against Hina's name when her name was raised in conversation, but Tashigi had thought little of it, since Smoker tended to say more bad of people than good. And when the two captains were together, they exchanged insults frequently – but again Tashigi had assumed this to be part of the nature of their relationship, since there had never seemed to be any malice behind their words. But, thinking more and more about things the two of them had said about her and to her, Tashigi began to suspect that she had completely misread both marines. Tashigi could particularly recall one instance where she had arrived back at the base late, after spending too long at the local sword shop – when she had returned, Captain Smoker had yelled at her as usual, asking what was wrong with her disappearing like she had, to which Hina had suggested, whilst smirking widely, that "Mister Smoker ought to get a lead for his little pet".

At the time, Hina's odd words had always seemed like a strange form of humour to Tashigi – but spending time analysing Hina's words, Tashigi began to suspect otherwise. Calling her Smoker's "little pet" could be seen as amusing, but it also could just be a huge insult. And what of Hina's regular comment of "Mister Smoker, you have something trailing from your ankles – oh it's Tashigi"? Tashigi began to frown, her mood becoming increasingly negative. Was that smile Hina wore when Tashigi was speaking about her love of swords an amiable one or one of contempt and condescension? Did Hina think of her as one big joke? And what about Smoker? If the two of them were a couple – which their earlier performance dancing together so had seemed to confirm – did they then both share the opinion that Tashigi was just a liability?

Tashigi gasped as she remembered one particular instance when Hina had hidden her glasses from her, and proceeded to spend the best part of an hour laughing at her as she tried to find them again. Feeling thoroughly mortified by the idea of Smoker and Hina secretly laughing at her behind her back, the only thing left to make Tashigi feel even worse was knowing that she had been ignorant to it all for so long. Maybe, she thought miserably, that was why Smoker never wanted to listen to her talk about swords and why he got so angry when she spent time having her sword repaired or visiting a sword shop: he was in fact embarrassed of her and her obsession, and he did not like Hina laughing at him for having such a useless second-in-command. Smoker made no secret of the fact that he considered himself one of the strongest and most powerful men in the marines and so what use could he possibly have for a clumsy, short-sighted, sword-obsessed girl like Tashigi?

Tashigi felt her throat tighten again as tears began to threaten; but she did not have long to dwell on the idea, as the sound of footsteps moving quickly towards her back awoke her from her thoughts. Turning her head with a gasp of alarm, she saw Zoro slow to a halt behind her, his eyes locked onto the sword in her hands.

"I thought we made a deal," he said quietly, pointing at the unsheathed Wado Ichimonji she still held.

"I-I'm so sorry Zoro!" she said hurriedly. "I just-I-I just had to see it!"

Tashigi stared up at Zoro, hoping that he would not be angry with her, as she did not have the energy or the will to fight him. His eyes wandered over her, an unreadable look on his face.

"It's just so beautiful…" she said, gently placing the sword down on the deck next to its scabbard.

She smoothly rose to her feet, turning to look at Zoro, chewing on her lower lip as she frowned up at him, hoping that she could get away from him without any sort of fight, verbal or physical.

"I'm sorry, I know I promised not to touch it ever again," she said faintly.

"And you lied," Zoro replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Isn't lying a pirate's business? What sort of marine can't keep their end of a simple deal?"

Zoro's words were a sharp and venomous confirmation of everything she had just been worrying over, and they stabbed through Tashigi's fragile nerves, shattering what little self-control she had left. Her eyes blurred with tears and a pitiful sob left her throat. Hurriedly clamping a hand over her mouth in a vain attempt to hide her emotions, she turned her back on Zoro, holding her breath as she tried to suppress her cries. When she did allow herself to breathe again however, another whimper left her mouth, her shoulders jerking with the effort.

"You're right," she confessed. "What sort of marine am I?"

Zoro did not answer her question, but Tashigi was not entirely sure that she had wanted him to anyway, since her ego could not take the wallop of another insult.

"Obviously not a very good one," she continued. "Since my commanding officer was celebrating finally getting rid of me, and didn't even bother trying to rescue me from the pirate ship he could see I was stuck on!"

Tashigi sighed softly, a tear escaping one eye as her words were yet again met with silence. She knew she ought not to be so surprised: Zoro apparently was a man who had no qualms about expressing the extremes of his own emotions, but the moment someone else showed any emotion of their own, he panicked.

"I've been so stupid!" Tashigi added, her voice sounding pitiful to even her own ears.

"What?" Zoro echoed.

"I was so stupid…" Tashigi repeated, feeling mildly glad that he had at last said something. "And now look at me! Without the navy to tell me what to do, I'm a total wreck!"

"That's not true," Zoro said after a short pause. "Because even without the navy, you still have your dream."

"My what?" she muttered, casting him a sideward glance over her shoulder, genuinely curious to hear what he was about to say.

"Your dream," he said firmly. "You still have your dream. Without you and all your hard work, who will be there to reclaim the world's finest swords from the clutches of evil?"

Tashigi arched her eyebrows in surprise that Zoro had said something that made her sound so important. She wondered if he had meant his words to sound they way they had, since he had put significant emphasis on them.

"But…" she said quietly. "I'm not very good at it…"

"Then work harder and get better at it!" Zoro quickly replied. "You mustn't give up! That's not the attitude to have!"

"I guess not," she agreed, sniffling and dipping her chin, hiding her face from his view to prevent him from seeing her cry.

"We'll get you back to the marines," he said in a gentle voice.

"I don't want to go back," Tashigi whispered, her words containing more truth than she cared to think of.

"Of course you do!" Zoro said dismissively.

"I don't belong there any more!" she said decisively.

Taking a deep breath and slowly sighing out the air to calm herself down again, Tashigi tried to relax before she continued.

"I can't do it on my own," she said, turning to face Zoro, but keeping her head down. "I-I always had Captain Smoker to help me, I'm not strong enough on my own. My father was right. He told me when I was young that I could never be as strong as a man, and he was right. I've only been strong before because I've had Captain Smoker there to help me when things got too difficult for me."

"That's not true," Zoro moodily replied. "You don't need Smokey, you can achieve your dreams just fine on your own."

Tashigi shook her head, silently wondering why Zoro was even bothering trying to be nice to her all of a sudden.

"Listen to me!" Zoro said firmly, grabbing her shoulders as he spoke. "You can do anything you want to, you just have to believe."

Tashigi looked up at him curiously, surprised to find him looking quite determined about his words.

"You can," he insisted.

Tashigi looked down at her feet again, Zoro's sudden kindnesses only making her feel all the more pathetic and miserable. Losing what little self-control she had left, Tashigi began to cry openly, silently wishing Zoro would release her so that she could jump off the ship and dive beneath the water, hiding herself from the world. Just as she was considering running from Zoro, he suddenly stepped forwards, grabbing his arms around her waist and tugging her sharply against his chest, holding her a little more fiercely than she had either expected or even wanted him to. Stiffening in his arms, Tashigi half-expected Zoro to push her away again at any moment. But Zoro continued to hold her close, and the warmth of his body combined with the offer of emotional reassurance that she had been lacking for so long soon began to overtake her concerns. Pressing her face to his shoulder, Tashigi gently slid her arms around his shoulders and closed her eyes, relaxing into his embrace with a soft sigh.

* * *

Smoker picked up another stone, moving his hand to add it to the pile he had created on the table before him. He knew that it was a somewhat fruitless exercise to do such things onboard a ship that was constantly in motion – but he desperately needed something to distract his mind. He was finding it hard to believe that the sun was setting on another day and they still had not seen any trace of Straw-Hat's ship. The thought of Tashigi spending another night with the pirates was almost too much for him.

Smoker placed the stone onto the top of the pile, watching it wobble a little before settling. He paused, thinning his eyes at the pile of stones before slapping a hand at the tower, scattering the stones over the floor of his cabin. He dropped his head into his hands, closing his eyes as he tried to contain the mounting rage within his being. The Straw-Hat Pirates had quite clearly been heading southwest when they left the island, and, since the marine ship Smoker was in was considerably faster, they should surely have caught up to the pirates by now.

"Mister Smoker," Hina said loudly, shoving the door open and stepping into the room.

"Do you ever knock?" Smoker growled moodily, keeping his head down.

"Hina doesn't need to "knock" on any doors in her own ship," Hina snootily replied. "Sitting here smashing rocks won't help anything, Mister Smoker."

"Unless you're here to tell me we've caught up to those pirates, or that you know where they are, get out and leave me alone," Smoker warned, lifting his head and slowly turning to scowl at Hina.

"Not exactly," Hina said slowly, something in the tone of her voice capturing Smoker's interest. "Hina spoke to some of her junior recruits, and it seems we have been tricked, Mister Smoker."

Smoker arched his eyebrows at her expectantly, but much to his annoyance, she did not continue.

"Tricked?" he pressed. "By who?"

"Well, first of all by two of my junior officers," Hina replied. "And secondly by your little pet Tashigi."

Smoker felt his face twist at the mention of Tashigi's name. He could not think of any form of trickery Tashigi would possibly get involved in, least of all turn on her own fellow marines.

"One of my junior officers is a former pirate, Mister Smoker," Hina eventually continued. "He is a master hypnotist. He is close friends with another junior officer, and the two of them hypnotised most of our crew earlier today."

Smoker began to shake his head to deny her words as nonsense – but the memory of suddenly waking up on the deck of the ship with Hina inexplicably attached to his side still made no sense to him, and so he remained silent, allowing Hina to continue.

"They hypnotised most of the crew, including you Mister Smoker, and even Hina herself," she said sadly. "A few officers were not under their control, and they reported to me that, whilst we were all hypnotised, we passed a pirate ship in the water."

"What?" Smoker growled, standing up abruptly.

"The ship had a red and white stripped sail, and a sail with the insignia of the Straw-Hat Pirates on it," Hina said. "The ship had a ram's head at the front, and a row of orange trees near the back."

"We passed Straw-Hat's ship?" Smoker roared. "When? Have we turned back yet?"

"No, Mister Smoker, we have not turned back," Hina tightly replied. "And we are not going to turn back."

Smoker narrowed his eyes, the increasingly angered look on Hina's face starting to bother him.

"Your pet, it would seem, has defected, Mister Smoker," she hissed viciously, curling a lip at him as she spoke.

"What?" Smoker echoed.

"My men have described what they saw onboard the pirate ship. One of the women they described could only be Sergeant Major Tashigi. Several of our officers saw her standing with Straw-Hat and Zoro, and many more officers saw her run to the back of the pirate ship to salute us."

Smoker stared incredulously at Hina, barely believing what he was hearing.

"Are you telling me that we passed the Straw-Hat Pirates and let them go," he said darkly. "That we passed Tashigi without offering our help. And that she was trying to salute to us, and we left her there?"

"Yes," Hina replied, looking suddenly bored with the whole affair.

"If this isn't a joke, you better have at least turned this ship around!" Smoker warned her.

"We had a deal, Captain Smoker!" she shouted, her face suddenly enraged. "I only agreed to go after her once!"

"What?" Smoker yelled. "That's it? Because we missed them once, you're giving up on me? What the hell is your problem?"

"The girl is my problem, Mister Smoker," Hina coldly replied. "Hina warned you against going after girls who elope with pirates, and now all you have done is wasted a lot of time and a good ship. We ought to reach land by mid-day tomorrow, you and your crew will leave my ship there."

Smoker clenched his hands into fists, silently wishing that Hina was a man so that he could punch her in the face without marring his conscience.

"We're turning this ship around, and we're going back for her," he said quietly.

"No, Mister Smoker, we're not," Hina stubbornly replied. "Tashigi has chosen to stay with the pirates, and no officer in his right mind would continue to chase after her now."

Smoker eyed Hina over suspiciously, wondering if she was acting so viciously out of some form of resentment she felt towards Tashigi.

"Turn this ship around," he said again. "And do it now!"

"No," Hina replied, shaking her head.

"I'll do it with my own hands," Smoker warned her.

"Try it, and you will find yourself at the bottom of the ocean."

Smoker growled in frustration, the very idea that, with every passing second, the gap between his crew and Tashigi was growing larger scratching at his raw nerves.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, hoping to at least reason with Hina.

"Why not ask some of the officers who saw Tashigi themselves?"

Smoker paused, the look on Hina's face telling him he would not get anything else out of her.

"Fine," he said with a sigh, marching out of the room.

Moving through the bowels of the ship, Smoker passed several officers, all of who appeared to be trying to avoid him. Eventually he sighted Jango and Fullbody and, remembering the ring he had confiscated from Jango, he suddenly realised that the ex-pirate was the source of the problem.

"You!" he barked, pointing at Jango.

Jango turned his head to look back at Smoker, starting in alarm and moving to stand from his seat. Smoker grabbed a hand onto his shoulder, shoving him back down into his seat and holding him there.

"I hear we passed the Straw-Hat Pirates," he growled. "What happened?"

"It was the power of the dance!" Jango replied.

Smoker turned to look across at Fullbody, who was sitting facing Jango.

"How about you?" he asked. "Can you tell me what happened, or do I have to throw you both overboard?"

Fullbody gulped audibly, his eyes widening.

"We were just having fun, Sir!" he nervously replied.

"The Straw-Hat Pirates," Smoker pressed. "What happened?"

"We passed them, Sir," Fullbody replied. "There were five of them onboard the ship."

"Five?" Smoker asked. "Was Sergeant Major Tashigi with them?"

"I don't know Sir, I don't know who Sergeant Major Tashigi is!" Fullbody nervously replied.

"Sir, Sergeant Major Tashigi was onboard the Straw-Hat Pirates' ship, along with Monkey D Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, a further male pirate with a long nose and a female pirate with orange hair," an officer offered, saluting Smoker as he spoke.

Smoker straightened away from Jango, roughly releasing his shoulder.

"And why was nothing done to recover Sergeant Major Tashigi?" he snarled, leaning towards the officer who had spoken.

"Well Sir, she appeared to be conversing with the pirates and they were laughing with her," the officer replied.

"The pirates were laughing?" Smoker echoed. "That's not a valid reason not to help an imprisoned marine!"

"Sir, after talking with the pirates, she stood up and shouted on you Sir, and she… She made an offensive gesture at you, Sir."

"Oh that was Sergeant Major Tashigi!" Fullbody blurted.

Smoker rounded on the junior officer once more, watching him cringe beneath his shadow.

"What happened?" Smoker demanded.

"She shouted "oi Chase, here's your salute, Sir" and she raised her middle fingers at our ship."

Smoker froze, wondering if he had even heard correctly. Tashigi had raised her middle fingers at a navy ship? Tashigi? Surely not!

"Is that you?" Fullbody asked, fighting off a smirk. "Are you Chase?"

Smoker paused, wondering if there had been some sort of mistake. He had never heard Tashigi refer to him by his first name, and he was not even sure that she knew what it was; but it was even less likely that one of the Straw-Hat Pirates knew his name, which meant it probably had been Tashigi after all.

"Sir, Tashigi had a sword, and she didn't try to leave the pirate ship," the marine next to Smoker added quietly.

"Are you sure it was her?" Smoker asked.

"Yes Sir," the marine solemnly replied. "I wasn't the only one who recognised her."

Smoker sighed lightly, an image of Tashigi standing on the back of the pirate ship sticking her middle fingers up at him flashing into his mind. It was not at all like Tashigi to do something so brash, which meant that perhaps Hina had been right all along. If Tashigi had chosen to join the Straw-Hat Pirates, the best thing Smoker could do, would be to return to Loguetown, he decided. After all, there was no point in pursuing her if she had chosen to run away and, by choosing to run away, she had just become a criminal – no longer Smoker's constant ally and aide, now Tashigi was his enemy and it was his duty as a marine to arrest her for such behaviour.

Smoker turned to Jango, briefly considering strangling him; but he decided against taking his anger out on Jango. Had Jango not hypnotised him, Smoker thought to himself, he would have been conscious to witness Tashigi's behaviour; at least this way he could remember her as the determined and kind girl that she had been in the years they had worked together.

"Round up my men, we'll be docking at the next island and returning to our post in Loguetown," Smoker told his officer.

"Aye, Sir!" the marine replied, saluting him.

Smoker marched back in the direction of his quarters, hoping that he would make the journey alone. Unfortunately his luck appeared to just keep getting worse, as he entered his room to find Hina still standing more or less where he had left her.

"You see Mister Smoker, Hina was right again," she said to him as he passed her. "Tashigi amused Hina too, but she was no marine. She was a nice girl, but a bumbling fool with no intelligence outside of her knowledge of swords. Hina thinks Mister Smoker liked the girl because, just like Mister Smoker, Tashigi didn't always stick to the status quo. She had a strange idea of justice, just like Mister Smoker does. I think she flattered your ego, and that was why you kept her around as long as you did."

Smoker rounded on Hina, again forcing down his anger as he spoke.

"Hina?" he snarled.

"Yes, Mister Smoker?" she purred, pouting up at him.

"Eat shit and die, bitch!"

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Zoro is confused and angry when Tashigi does something stupid, Tashigi begins to understand why Zoro has such a problem with her face, and Smoker makes a reluctant confession to Hina. **Chapter 12 – Facing the Truth**.


	12. Facing the Truth

**Recap:** Zoro felt sympathy for Tashigi, Tashigi was feeling confused and Smoker was angry.

* * *

 **Chapter 12 – Facing the Truth**

Zoro awoke late – later than usual. He wandered to the kitchen optimistically, but the pervert cook had cleaned up and left already. Laziness outweighing his own hunger, Zoro decided to simply go above deck, find a nice warm place in the sun and go back to sleep until lunchtime.

Once he had reached the deck of the Going Merry, Zoro briefly looked about himself, finding the rest of the crew loosely scattered about the bow of the ship. Deciding he would get no peace amidst the others, Zoro started towards the stern, letting out a yawn as he walked. Something flashed in the water as he passed Nami's mini orange grove, causing him to pause and frown curiously. Zoro rolled his eyes upwards, thinking carefully about what he had seen when he had stepped up onto the deck: Luffy was sat on the ram's head at the very front of the ship, Sanji had been sandwiched between Nami and Robin as they discussed a map and Usopp and Chopper had been playing cards.

'The girl,' Zoro thought with a sigh. 'She wasn't with them.'

Turning to the water, Zoro grimaced as he remembered how she had so foolishly jumped into the sea the day before, apparently believing that she could find her sword. Zoro was still not sure if her actions had been a result of the weakened health she had been quietly suffering from, or if she was simply an idiot. He silently decided that if she was in the water again, it was her own doing, and he was not going to rescue her again. Smoker would find her eventually and take her back to the navy and everything would return to normal: Zoro would not have to suffer looking at Kuina's face and he would finally get peace from the girl's nagging voice.

Moving over to a calm, sunny spot, Zoro slowly sat down, leaning back against the railings of the ship, basking in the warmth of the late morning sun. The sound of the water lapping against the sides of the ship was soothing, and the warmth of the sunlight was very enticing; but Zoro couldn't sleep. He opened one eye, his eyebrows knitting creases into his forehead as he considered the implications of that foolish marine girl being in the water. Did she realise how fast a ship like the Going Merry travelled? She would get left behind in a matter of minutes if she did not get back on board soon.

Growling in frustration, Zoro flipped over onto his knees, grasping the railing and leaning over to check the surface of the water for her exact location. When he had not sighted her after a few seconds, Zoro began to think that perhaps she had already been left far behind. Or perhaps she had gone under the ship. Or perhaps she was on the other side of the ship. Or maybe she was tangled in the rudder and dying a gruesome death. Zoro shook his head vigorously, sitting back down hard, folding his arms moodily. Why should he care if anything untoward had happened to her? If she was floating about in the sea somewhere behind them, that meant she was gone from the Going Merry, and, with any luck, Zoro thought to himself, he may never have to see her face ever again.

Zoro leaned his head back, closing his eyes again, thinking about never seeing Tashigi ever again. It would make his life a lot less complicated if she disappeared for good. No longer would he have to torture himself looking at her face and thinking of Kuina and no longer would he need to worry about her stealing his most prized possession imaginable. And if she was gone, the threat of the navy looking for her was removed also. Life would be more peaceful, and normality would have finally been restored.

Zoro hesitated, his mind blanking for a moment, before something began to stir in his chest.

"Damn it!" he snarled, jumping to his feet and turning to lean over the railings again, looking back in the direction they had come from, squinting for any traces of unusual movement.

Images of sea-monsters, sharks, misplaced rocks, venomous creatures, less than savoury pirate crews and unexpected current fluctuations began darkening Zoro's mind, to the point that he found himself removing his boots, preparing to leap into the water and swim back to find her.

"Idiot girl!" he cursed, throwing his boots across the deck.

Grabbing the railings in one hand, Zoro stepped a foot up, ready to leap over the top, when the sound of a muffled scream drew his attention back to the cabin. Turning and running in the direction of the sound, Zoro found himself at the top of the stairs that led below deck. The sight of what lay at the bottom of the steps made him stop short, freezing on the spot in unrivalled horror: the grown-up Kuina was lying in a twisted pile at the bottom of the staircase, the Wado Ichimonji at her side.

"What happened?" Sanji asked, crouching down at her side.

"She fell down the stairs," Chopper replied, lifting a hoof from Tashigi's face and turning it over to reveal blood on his fur.

"Is she alright?" Sanji asked.

"I don't know…" Chopper said slowly, reaching a hoof towards her neck.

Zoro clapped a hand over his eyes – he could not stand to watch it a moment longer. Chopper was obviously about to feel for a pulse, and Zoro could not allow himself to relive his own history, watching the girl die all over again.

"The-the Wado Ichimonji…"

Zoro let his hand slip to his mouth, his eyes dropping to the girl once more at the sound of her voice, watching as she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"Whoa, take it easy, Tashigi!" Sanji said to her.

"The Wado Ichimonji!" she said weakly, reaching a shaking hand towards Kuina's sword.

"The sword is alright," Chopper assured her. "But you're not! You're still weak from the fever you had, you're supposed to be resting, not fighting with swords! And now you've cut your lip!"

"Are you hurt anywhere, Tashigi?" Sanji asked her.

"Hey, what happened?" Nami asked, slinking past Zoro and starting down the steps. "Tashigi! Are you al-hey!"

Zoro ignored Nami's protest, unceremoniously shoving her aside as he jogged down the stairs, clearing two steps with each bound.

"My wrist hurts a little," he heard Tashigi say. "I think I landed on it and bit my lip. And my ankle really hurts, I caught my foot on one of the steps and twisted it badly."

Chopper nodded his head, taking hold of her hand and gently moving it around experimentally.

"How does that feel?" he asked.

"It hurts a little, but it's not too bad," Tashigi softly replied.

"What about your ankle?" Sanji asked.

"I-I don't think I can stand up just yet," she replied, before hanging her head, her hair falling over her face.

"Don't try to move it, you might make it worse," Zoro said firmly, crouching down at her side.

"Zoro?" she whispered, turning her head to face him. "I'm sorry, I was just taking the Wado Ichimonji down to polish it–"

"Stop talking," Zoro said hurriedly, raising a hand in the air to halt her words.

Really, the coincidences were becoming hard enough for him to cope with, he did not need to hear that every single thing she did and said was so ridiculously like Kuina.

"Let's just get you to your room, we can raise your ankle to stop it swelling up, and Chopper can take a look at it properly," he added.

Tashigi cast a small frown at him, but Zoro ignored her questioningly look, grabbing her uninjured wrist and pulling her arm around his shoulders. Her face instantly flushed bright red and her chest shuddered as she gasped at his actions.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she asked hoarsely.

Zoro decided that she would find an answer to her question soon enough without him explaining himself, and so he remained silent, grabbing one arm around her waist and hooking the other around the back of her knees. She yelped as he hoisted her up, rising to his feet with her cradled in his arms.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked her, looking down at her as he spoke.

"No," she hurriedly replied, her face turning even redder than before.

Taking a deep breath, Zoro started towards the women's quarters, looking back over one shoulder as he walked, locating Chopper.

"Hey Chopper, come on!" he called to him.

Chopper scurried off, calling out something about needing more supplies. Zoro rolled his eyes, continuing onwards, kicking open the door to the ladies' room and marching briskly in. He moved over to the hammock Tashigi had been sleeping in, gently lowering her into it. He slowly slid his arm out from behind her back, holding her legs up a moment longer as he grabbed a nearby sheet, winding it around his hand to create a ball, before laying it down onto the hammock, and resting her feet onto it. Releasing a sigh that had felt tight in his chest, Zoro sat onto the hammock next to Tashigi's, lowering his head into his hands.

"Zoro?" she said quietly. "I was only trying to keep the sword beautiful, don't get angry with me!"

"Why do you wear her face?" Zoro breathed out, the words leaving him as some sort of instinctive reaction that he had no conscious control over.

"What?" Tashigi asked shakily.

"You look…" he began, lifting his head to look at her as he spoke.

Zoro paused, finding her watching him with tears in her eyes and worry creasing her features. Her lower lip was scarlet with blood and she was visibly shaking, Zoro did not know if she looked that way she did because the fall had shocked her system or if she was in more pain than she was admitting to; either way he felt bad.

"You look like the girl who owned the Wado Ichimonji," he confessed, his words coming out as a monotonous string.

"The girl who…" Tashigi began. "Then how did you come to own the sword?"

"Her father let me have it after she died," Zoro explained.

"Oh…" Tashigi said slowly.

"Her father owned the dojo I trained at," Zoro continued. "She was my biggest rival, she was my greatest idol and she was my source of motivation and inspiration."

Zoro lowered his head, slowly pushing his fingers through his hair. He could feel Tashigi's eyes still on him intently, but he could also hear Chopper running towards the room, and so he kept his head down and remained silent.

"How are you feeling Tashigi?" Chopper asked, hurrying into the room with an armful of bandages and a small first aid box.

When Tashigi did not answer the reindeer, Zoro lifted his head a little, looking up at her. She was still staring silently at him, her mouth slightly open, her eyebrows pressed together in a concerned frown.

"I'll leave you to it," he said quietly, rising to his feet.

Keeping his eyes on the door, Zoro walked from the room, heading back up onto the deck. He ignored the others as they shot questions about Tashigi at him, continuing across the deck to the bow of the ship. Silently relieved that he was still barefoot, Zoro stepped up onto the railings by the ram's head and dove off the ship, plunging into the water below. Cutting through the water, he swam back to the surface, breathing heavily as he treaded water.

"Shit," he sighed out, shaking his head slowly. "That was just… Shit."

* * *

"Don't try to move it, you might make it worse."

"Zoro?" Tashigi whispered, turning her head to face him as he squatted at her side. "I'm sorry, I was just taking the Wado Ichimonji down to polish it–"

"Stop talking," Zoro interrupted her, raising a hand in front of her face.

Tashigi obediently fell silent, the urge to cry increasing as she realised that Zoro was even angrier with her than she had suspected he would be. She had only been trying to do him a favour and fulfil her own desires to admire the elegant craftsmanship of the wondrous Wado Ichimonji; she had not intentionally tripped and fallen down the stairs. Her own wretched clumsiness had not only made Zoro hate her even more than he already did but she had probably also just damaged his priceless, irreplaceable sword.

"Let's just get you to your room, we can raise your ankle to stop it swelling up, and Chopper can take a look at it properly," Zoro said gruffly.

Tashigi frowned at him incredulously, her mouth opening, but words failing her. In light of what had just taken place, the sound of Zoro arriving at her side had made her think he had arrived to retrieve his precious sword and inspect it for damage; but he had not so much as glanced at the Wado Ichimonji sine his arrival, and now he was showing concern for her welfare? What was going on?

Before Tashigi could theorise on the matter, Zoro grabbed her uninjured wrist, a yelp of surprise leaving her before she could stop herself. She thought perhaps he was about to fight with her somehow, having grown tired of her clumsiness as Smoker had done; but instead he pulled her arm around his shoulders and hunched over her, his face set into an intense look that made her chest buzz and her face burn. She tried to speak, but managed nothing more than a shuddering gasp at first.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she asked on her second attempt at speech.

But Zoro did not so much as flinch at her words, grabbing an arm around her waist, his fingers curling over her mid-section. He reached his other arm under her legs, folding his hand over her knee, before smoothly standing, lifting her up in his arms as though she were little more than a sack of feathers. The ease and unexpected nature of his actions took Tashigi so by surprise that she yelped again, the sound of her cry bringing Zoro's eyes to hers sharply.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked her quietly, his expression deeply intense and solemn.

"No," she hurriedly replied, her face becoming unbearably hot.

Tashigi's concerns that she was blushing were confirmed as she caught sight of the end of her nose, which looked redder than Straw-Hat Luffy's shirt at that moment. She felt Zoro's chest press against her side as he drew in a deep breath before striding through the ship.

"Hey Chopper, come on!" he called over his shoulder as he walked.

Tashigi looked up at him in awe that he could walk and look about himself with such ease whilst supporting her entire weight in his arms. Tashigi began to sweat as her face burned hotter still as she tried to figure out what to do with her hand that was at Zoro's shoulder. Should she hold on to help support her weight or ought she not to try touching his bare skin? Looking up at Zoro's face she saw him roll his eyes with an exasperated look: could he tell what she was thinking?

With a thud, Zoro kicked the door to the ladies' quarters open, apparently not feeling any pain, despite kicking a wooden door with his bare foot. He carried Tashigi to her hammock, where he lowered her down, sliding his arm out from under her back. As he straightened away from her, Tashigi's arm slid down his, her mind once more racing she tried to guess what was acceptable behaviour in such circumstances. Her arm eventually fell from his as he reached for a blanket, rolling it over his hand. Tashigi clutched at the hammock as he lifted her legs up to push the ball under them before he finally placed her feet down, stepping back and breaking all physical contact with her.

Tashigi watched Zoro sit into Robin's hammock, lowering his head and covering his face with both hands. Just before his face disappeared from her view, she caught an odd look fleet across his eyes, one that left her feeling very guilty once more.

"Zoro?" she said quietly. "I was only trying to keep the sword beautiful, don't get angry with me!"

"Why do you wear her face?" Zoro responded, his voice heavy but quiet.

"What?" Tashigi echoed, wondering if she had heard right, since his words did not seem to match the apology she had just attempted.

"You look…" he began, lifting his head to look at her as he spoke.

Tashigi held her breath as she watched Zoro, waiting for him to continue. His expression shifted into a scrutinising one for a few seconds before blanking over again as he continued talking.

"You look like the girl who owned the Wado Ichimonji," he finished.

"The girl who…" Tashigi began curiously. "Then how did you come to own the sword?"

"Her father let me have it after she died," Zoro explained.

"Oh…" Tashigi said slowly.

"Her father owned the dojo I trained at," Zoro continued. "She was my biggest rival, she was my greatest idol and she was my source of motivation and inspiration."

Tashigi opened her mouth, but her voice failed her. She had, of course, always wondered how Zoro had come by a magnificent sword like the Wado Ichimonji, but she had always largely assumed that he had either stolen it in his time as a pirate or he had taken it from the hands of an opponent he had duelled to the death with as some sort of trophy for his victory. But, more of a revelation for Tashigi than learning that Zoro had been gifted with the sword, Zoro had trained with a girl, and still held her in high enough esteem to call her his source of inspiration and motivation.

And, Tashigi thought, this amazing girl who owned the Wado Ichimonji and helped turn Zoro into the unbelievably skilled swordsman that he now was, looked exactly like her – so much so that Zoro found it hard to look at her face. Tashigi had never considered that there had been a deeper meaning for Zoro finding it so difficult to look her in the eye, but suddenly a lot of things about his treatment of her were starting to make a lot of sense.

"How are you feeling Tashigi?" Chopper asked, hurrying into the room with an armful of bandages and a small first aid box.

Tashigi ignored the little reindeer, keeping her eyes fixed on Zoro. As Chopper began arranging his medical supplies on a nearby desk, Zoro lifted his head a little, his eyes looking out at Tashigi. Tashigi held her breath again as she waited for him to say something more, to continue his story; but instead he stood up, moving his eyes to the door.

"I'll leave you to it," he said quietly.

Tashigi watched Zoro leave, barely noticing Chopper as he moved to her feet. Her mind was racing with the information Zoro had just imparted, and she was trying desperately to make sense of it and to fill in the gaps between what she did now know.

"Ow!" she cried as Chopper pushed against the ball of her foot.

"That hurts?" he asked, looking at her.

"Damn right it does!" Tashigi snapped back.

Chopper eyed her curiously, and Tashigi found herself confused by her own outburst. At that moment, she was not sure which was causing her more discomfort: her injuries or her incomplete understanding of Zoro's erratic treatment of her.

* * *

Zoro paused, frowning at the shadow on the deck in front of him. Slowly turning his head, he saw Tashigi standing over him, dressed in Nami's clothes, looking particularly worried about something. Zoro, who had been in the middle of carrying out a set of one-arm push-ups, reluctantly got to his feet, turning to face her.

"You're not fit to spar with me," he said bluntly, since, he decided that could be the only reason she had sought him out.

"I-I know," she said weakly, nervously tucking her hair behind one ear. "I just wanted to say I was sorry – about your friend Kuina, and for trying to take the Wado Ichimonji from you, I never realised it held so much meaning to you."

Zoro waited for her continue, a part of him actually wanting her to apologise for looking so much like Kuina that it ate at his soul just to look at her: but she appeared to have finished her little speech.

"I earned the Wado Ichimonji, and I carry it with pride," he told her.

"Oh, I understand that now," she replied, nodding her head. "And back in Arabasta, I was pleased that you used the Wado Ichimonji for something honourable."

Zoro shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what she wanted him to say or do next. Lowering his eyes, he saw that her left wrist had been wrapped in a bandage.

"How's your ankle?" he asked, pointing at her booted feet, neither of which looked as though they had been treated for an injury.

"Oh, it's…" she began, her face faltering a little. "It will be alright."

Zoro nodded his head, wondering what more she wanted from him.

"I just wanted to ask you a question," she eventually said. "About your friend Kuina."

Zoro sighed, turning his head to one side, the prospect of discussing Kuina with someone who essentially was Kuina leaving him feeling awkward and anxious.

"I just wondered about two things…" Tashigi continued. "First of all, I wondered how old she was when she… When she passed away."

"She was fourteen," Zoro replied, keeping his head turned away. "But that was seven years ago."

"Seven years ago," Tashigi repeated. "So she really was the same age as me. And she looked a lot like I do?"

"No, it's not that the two of you look alike, it's that the two of you are identical," Zoro ground out, casting her a sideward glance to gauge her reaction to his words.

"Oh, it's as significant as that?" she asked quietly.

"You have no idea," Zoro replied.

"And she was only fourteen, so young!" Tashigi said, shaking her head solemnly.

"She fell down the stairs when she was on her way to sharpen the Wado Ichimonji," Zoro added darkly. "Just like you did this morning."

He finally got a reaction out of the marine, her eyes doubling in size at his words.

"Oh I'm sorry you had to relive that!" she said, pressing a hand to her heart.

"Just be more careful," Zoro said firmly.

"Was-was Kuina clumsy?"

"Hell no!"

Zoro snapped his head around to face Tashigi directly, the one glaringly obvious difference between the two girls making it suddenly easier for him to confront Tashigi.

"She had poise, dignity, grace…" he said, finding his words strained as he was becoming oddly breathless. "She was the first person to ever beat me in a duel, and she beat me every day, every time we duelled. She was a master swordsman and I was helpless against her."

"Not at all like me there then," Tashigi said quietly, lowering her head.

"But your style is very similar to hers," Zoro added. "And, just like you, Kuina thought she couldn't be the best because she was born a girl – which was ridiculous, because she beat me 2001 times."

Tashigi lifted her head, her eyebrows shooting up to disappear under her hair, as she was apparently shocked to hear Zoro's last words.

"Anything else?" he asked tightly, silently hoping that he had imparted enough personal information to be rid of her.

"Just one more thing…" she said meekly, holding up a pointed finger and smiling shyly.

"What?" Zoro growled impatiently.

"She was fourteen, it was seven years ago… So you were… You…"

"I was twelve?"

"Oh."

Zoro sighed in relief, as his last words appeared to answer the question she had apparently been unable to put into words.

"I have to finish up here," he said, again trying to get rid of her.

"Of course, I'm sorry," she said gently. "And… Thank you."

She nodded her head, chewing on her lower lip before turning her back on him and walking off. Zoro watched her go, quirking an eyebrow curiously as she continually looked back over her shoulder at him.

"Strange girl," he muttered under his breath once she had disappeared from sight.

* * *

"I just wanted to ask you a question. About your friend Kuina."

Tashigi tensed as Zoro turned his head away from her upon hearing her speak the name of his dead companion. She knew that she was pushing her luck broaching the subject with him, but her curiosity was eating her up, and she simply had to know the answers to the questions plaguing her own mind.

"I just wondered about two things…" she continued, deciding she might as well carry on since Zoro had not refused to answer her. "First of all, I wondered how old she was when she… When she passed away."

"She was fourteen," Zoro replied, keeping his head turned away. "But that was seven years ago."

"Seven years ago," Tashigi repeated. "So she really was the same age as me. And she looked a lot like I do?"

"No, it's not that the two of you look alike, it's that the two of you are identical," Zoro ground out, casting her a sideward glance as he spoke.

"Oh, it's as significant as that?" she asked quietly.

"You have no idea," Zoro replied.

"And she was only fourteen, so young!" Tashigi said, shaking her head solemnly.

"She fell down the stairs when she was on her way to sharpen the Wado Ichimonji," Zoro added darkly. "Just like you did this morning."

Tashigi froze, the answer to one of her questions finally realised. Ever since Zoro had told her the small snippet of information about how he had inherited the Wado Ichimonji, she had wondered what had taken Kuina's life. Part of her worried that Zoro had been the cause of Kuina's death, either through battle or by some tragic accident – but she was relieved to hear that neither was the case.

"Oh I'm sorry you had to relive that!" she said, pressing a hand to her heart, her mind beginning to comprehend why he had been so anxious to tend to her upon her fall.

"Just be more careful," Zoro said firmly.

"Was-was Kuina clumsy?" Tashigi asked cautiously.

"Hell no!" Zoro snapped, turning his head back to look directly at her. "She had poise, dignity, grace…"

Zoro hesitated, and Tashigi's eyes lowered to his chest, which was heaving under laboured breaths; obviously his memories of Kuina were very emotional for him, she thought sadly.

"She was the first person to ever beat me in a duel," he eventually continued. "And she beat me every day, every time we duelled. She was a master swordsman and I was helpless against her."

"Not at all like me there then," Tashigi said quietly, lowering her head.

"But your style is very similar to hers," Zoro added. "And, just like you, Kuina thought she couldn't be the best because she was born a girl – which was ridiculous, because she beat me 2001 times."

Tashigi lifted her head, staring at Zoro incredulously. She had not thought it possible for anyone to defeat Zoro, much less a girl – and for him to admit that he had lost to her 2001 times was simply unbelievable.

"Anything else?" he asked tightly

"Just one more thing…" Tashigi said slowly, determined to get the answer to her second question, the one she was too scared to ask directly, but the one she most needed an answer to for her own peace of mind.

"What?" Zoro growled impatiently.

"She was fourteen," Tashigi began, hoping Zoro might catch her meaning. "It was seven years ago… So you were… You…"

"I was twelve?" Zoro offered.

"Oh," Tashigi said, nodding her head.

Tashigi had assumed by the way Zoro had spoken of Kuina that the two of them had been lovers, and when he had said that Kuina was fourteen at her death, it had still made the chance of them being romantically involved a possibility: but since Zoro had only been twelve, Tashigi assumed that, for a boy at such an age, Zoro had not thought of Kuina in a romantic way after all. The worry of looking like Zoro's dead soul mate had been tearing her apart with anxiety.

"I have to finish up here," Zoro said gruffly, pointing at the deck where he had been exercising prior to her interruption.

"Of course, I'm sorry," she said gently. "And… Thank you."

Tashigi turned from Zoro and slowly walked away, stealing a few backward glances as she left, silently wondering how strange it really must be for him to have to see her face if she truly was so identical to Kuina, someone he had cited as his "motivation and inspiration".

* * *

"Please don't do it."

Smoker looked down thoughtfully at the sword hilt peeking out from the fold of linen in his hand.

"Are you listening to me?"

Lifting his eyes from Tashigi's sword, Smoker watched as his crew shook hands with Hina's crew, the number of officers gradually diminishing as Hina's crew returned to their ship and Smoker's own crew filed into the nearby naval office.

"Smoker please, be serious."

"I've never been more serious about anything in my life," Smoker quietly replied, turning his head to look at Hina, who was watching him with the face of a freshly poisoned ferret, her displeasure radiating off of her despite her best attempts to disguise it behind sympathetic words.

"You're being ridiculous," she said tightly. "Absolutely ridiculous. The government won't like this. You could lose your job. You could lose everything we worked for!"

"We?"

Smoker raised his eyebrows questioningly, but Hina did not appear to see anything wrong with the words she had spoken.

"Is that what you want?" she asked him. "Do you want to be the ruin of Captain Hina's career and reputation?"

"This isn't about you," Smoker sighed, shaking his head at her. "It never was."

"I can't keep making excuses for you!" Hina hissed. "Your pig-headed attitude has almost cost you your career many times, and it's only thanks to me that you are still a marine!"

"I don't care what the government thinks," Smoker calmly replied, turning his back on Hina. "And right now, I don't really care what you think."

He heard Hina sigh loudly in frustration behind him.

"Smoker, the girl ran away with a pirate," she said stiffly. "You've known since the day Straw-Hat and his crew arrived in Loguetown that Tashigi had a silly little crush on Roronoa Zoro, and you knew this would happen one day. Why can't you accept it? I did like her too, but she was a ditzy dreamer, and she would never have made it into the senior ranks of the navy! No-one ever took her seriously, she was the most accident-prone person anyone had ever met! I can only guess what sort of pirate she will make."

"She's not a pirate," Smoker quickly pointed out. "She is a Sergeant Major of the navy."

"Not for long…" Hina muttered.

Smoker looked back over his shoulder, watching Hina light up a cigarette.

"You're wasting your time," she added, lifting her eyes to his. "And you've wasted Hina's time."

"Your half-wit junior recruits wasted everybody's time playing tricks on us all," Smoker pointed out. "If that hadn't happened, I would have her back by now."

"Face it Mister Smoker, Tashigi isn't coming back," Hina said with a disinterested sigh.

"Yes she is," Smoker insisted.

"Well, perhaps she will come back when Hina arrests her for being a pirate."

"Not going to happen. I'm going to find her, and I'm going to kill Straw-Hat and Roronoa Zoro."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"Hina doesn't understand why…"

Smoker sighed, looking down at Tashigi's sword again. On the journey to land he had spent most of his time considering both the merit of continuing a search for Tashigi and his reasons for doing so, and had only managed to come up with one reason for all of it: even though it had been painful for him to admit to it, even to himself.

"I can't leave her with pirates," he said quietly, pinching at the bridge of his nose, silently willing Hina to leave.

"This goes beyond your call of duty," Hina replied in a low voice.

"Yes it does," Smoker admitted.

"Why then, Mister Smoker? Hina has to know."

Smoker paused, looking down at the sword and then up at the horizon, scanning over the all-but empty coastline before finally answering Hina's demands.

"Because I love her."

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Zoro is surprised, impressed and then confused; Tashigi is content, conflicted and then confused; and I didn't write Smoker in the next chapter, but we'll just say he was probably confused too… **Chapter 13 – Sense and Sensibility**.


	13. Sense and Sensibility

**A/N:** Taking another liberty and inserting a real (English) novel into this fic. If you are reading this and you have never heard of the book "Sense and Sensibility" be warned that I do reveal the ending of the book in the next few chapters. If you have read "Sense and Sensibility" (or seen the television adaptation with Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson) you will appreciate the irony and relevance of the story, and you will understand that I am nothing but an Austen thief – my last major fanfic ripped off "Pride and Prejudice". Geez, get an original idea, huh?!

 **Recap:** Zoro told Tashigi about Kuina after seeing her fall down the stairs; Tashigi gained a little appreciation for Zoro's attitude towards her face and his desire to hold on to the Wado; Smoker decided to abandon his duties as a marine to search for Tashigi alone, because he loves her… Aw, bless!

* * *

 **Chapter 13 – Sense and Sensibility**

Tashigi sat with her arms around one knee, her other leg stretched out in front of her, resting her sprained ankle. From her vantage point, she had an ideal view of Zoro carrying out his many bizarre training techniques, most of which seemed more to Tashigi like forms of self-torture than personal development. The longer she watched him, the less inferior she felt, as she became sure that if she were to spend as much time and effort on her own physical training as Zoro did, she would probably be ten times as strong as she was, and a far more worthy opponent for him. But being a marine was not all about physical training – even though that did form a large part of a marine's career. Tashigi had discovered that the higher she climbed in the ranks of the navy, the more time she had to spend on paperwork and administration.

At her side, Tashigi had a plate, fork and glass, which she was actually slightly ashamed to return to the kitchen; she could not deny that Sanji was the finest chef she had ever encountered, and her breakfast dishes looked as though she had licked them clean – which she practically had. And, thanks to Usopp, Tashigi almost had clear vision of her surroundings. He had offered her a pair of adjustable goggles, showing her how to use them to focus her eyesight. The result was that the goggles worked almost as well as her glasses, even if she did feel a little odd wearing goggles constantly. Thanks to Nami she had a sensible change of clothes that did not make her look like the common pirate girl she had feared they might, Chopper's handiwork meant that her injuries were comfortable and bearable and Luffy had continued to make her feel welcome onboard his ship, despite the fact that she was his foe and had tried to arrest him and his crew in the past.

Slowly moving her eyes from Zoro, Tashigi began scanning the sea again, silently wondering if she might see a ship she recognised. She had given up on Smoker coming to rescue her, but a small part of her still felt that the government might order another crew to search for her when she was officially reported as AWOL. It was unlike the navy to just let a marine disappear, least of all in the company of pirates. Tashigi had not really thought about what she would do if another, unknown, division of the navy came for her: she could not stay with the Straw-Hat Pirates forever, but since she no longer had a place in the marines, going back did not really seem like an option either.

Lowering her eyes a little, Tashigi started in alarm as she spotted Robin sat in a deckchair, one arm draped across her stomach, the other holding up an open book in front of her face. Whilst the sight of Robin reading a book was no cause for concern, the fact that Robin's eyes were in fact fixed onto Tashigi instead of the book did make Tashigi a little uncomfortable.

"Do you like to read, Miss Marine?" Robin called up to her.

"Uh…" Tashigi began awkwardly. "Sure."

Robin nodded her head, her eyes lowering back to her book. Tashigi yelped as a book flew through the air in her general direction, yelping again as a hand sprouted from the floor at her side, catching the book and holding it out towards her.

"You should read this one," Robin suggested, turning the page in her own book, her eyes not lifting from the page.

Tashigi watched Robin for a moment before gingerly plucking the book from the hand at her side, watching curiously as the hand receded back into the wood.

"Sense and Sensibility?" Tashigi read aloud from the cover. "Is this a novel?" she called to Robin.

"You should appreciate it," Robin replied, her eyes still on her book, her tone somewhat disinterested. "Perhaps you will learn something from Miss Marianne Dashwood."

"Marianne Dashwood?" Tashigi muttered, frowning down at the book in her hands.

Tashigi did not want to admit to Robin that she had not actually read a novel since she had joined the marines: any free reading time she had was spent studying swords, criminals, trials and naval regulations. But, she told herself, she had plenty of free time now that she was onboard a pirate ship and unable to train with her sword thanks to her injuries, and so she might as well indulge.

"What's so special about Marianne Dashwood?" she called to Robin.

"Read the book," Robin called back, again without looking up. "And think carefully."

Tashigi pulled a face at Robin, finding her tone oddly parental; but she opened the book regardless, and began reading the first chapter.

* * *

Zoro dragged the back of one hand across his brow, grabbing up his mug to take a drink. He paused mid-gulp, a small frown creasing his features, his eyes shifting to Sanji. He had asked for more rum, but apparently Sanji was being obnoxious again, as he had filled Zoro's mug with milk. Slowly swallowing the contents of his mouth and replacing the mug to the barrel it had been sat on top of, Zoro pouted involuntarily as the taste of warm, slightly sour milk filled his mouth.

"Bastard…" he grumbled, thinning his eyes at Sanji's back.

To his relief however, Tashigi had not bothered him during his training. Since interrogating him about Kuina, she appeared to have finally given up pestering him about everything. Zoro began to wonder if it might have been worth telling Tashigi about Kuina sooner; but he did still grudge having to disclose such personal information to a marine. And she had behaved quiet oddly afterwards, asking strange questions that seemed completely irrelevant. Zoro's head hurt just thinking about the whole situation, and he really did not appreciate any distractions on his road to becoming the greatest swordsman.

"Are we near land yet?" he called to Nami as she neared him.

"Another few hours," she called back.

"Good," Zoro muttered, casting his eyes upwards, locating Tashigi.

She was sitting reading a book, a pair of Usopp's goggles pushed up into her hair, her expression intense as she read. Zoro had no idea what she was reading or why, but whatever it was, it had kept her very quiet and very much out of his way for a long time.

'Probably something about famous swords, or being a marine,' Zoro thought to himself.

"Why?" Nami asked, drawing Zoro's attention from Tashigi once more.

"What?" he echoed, frowning at her, the dark smirk on her face making him feel a little uneasy.

"Just wondered if you had plans for when we dock," Nami casually replied.

"I need to get a few things," Zoro said, eying the mug of milk at his side disdainfully.

"So you need another loan?"

Zoro turned to Nami with wide eyes, watching her smirk widen. He was sure her teeth looked more jagged than usual as she grinned maniacally at him, drawing her usual amount of pleasure from Zoro's consistently poor financial situation.

"Because you owe me six hundred thousand," she said.

"Six hundred thousand?" Zoro yelled. "What? I thought you said it was three hundred thousand?"

"Yeah, but I also said it would double if you didn't pay me back," Nami frankly replied.

Zoro growled at her, but she merely smiled sweetly in return.

"So, do you need another loan?" she asked lightly.

"Hell no!" Zoro snarled.

"If you're sure…"

Nami sighed, shrugging her shoulders. Zoro twitched involuntarily, wondering how he would find the money to buy the things he wanted without borrowing it from Nami. As he was speculating on what to do, Usopp and Chopper passed by him, discussing supplies they needed to buy when they got to land. Zoro grinned slyly, deciding that Nami was not his only source of money after all.

* * *

Tashigi sighed, gladly snapping shut the book Robin had given her as the Straw-Hat Pirates began to disembark the ship. She was a third of the way through the book, but she still had no idea what she was meant to be learning from Marianne Dashwood. In fact, she thought, Marianne Dashwood seemed like a bit of an idiot with little to offer anyone in the way of personal development. Getting off the ship and walking about on solid ground at last was a welcome break from the book, and the only thing that prevented Tashigi from jumping down to land and running off was her injured ankle.

Moving Usopp's goggles over her eyes and hobbling a little as she walked, Tashigi gladly left the ship, frowning as the captain took off with great exuberance, leaving the others behind. The rest of the crew began to disperse and by the time Tashigi had entered the seaside town, she had lost sight of every Straw-Hat Pirate. Rolling her eyes, Tashigi started to make her way through the streets at a slow pace, subconsciously steering herself in a specific direction: a notice-board mounted near a large restaurant.

Tashigi stopped at the notice-board finding that, as expected, it was largely decorated with wanted posters. Although she knew she ought not to be surprised to find the faces of Luffy and Zoro amongst the posters, Tashigi still felt insecure and uncomfortable knowing that the town she was in saw Luffy and Zoro as criminals. If the locals thought of Luffy and Zoro as criminals that inevitably meant that they considered anyone else travelling with them to be just as bad: including Tashigi herself. But in spite of her dark thoughts, Tashigi found herself searching out the posters relating to the local bandits, automatically familiarising herself with them as years of training in the navy had taught her to do. Looking at the posters, Tashigi began to wonder where the local naval base was, and why none of the Straw-Hat Pirates had taken her to it; oddly, they seemed to have accepted her as an almost temporary member of their crew.

Thinking harder on the matter, Tashigi decided that the best thing for her to do was to seek out the local naval base and ask for assistance. But before she could even take a step away from where she stood, Tashigi stalled herself, her mind trying to figure out exactly what she would say when she arrived at the base. The local commanding officer would doubtlessly send her back to Captain Smoker, and Tashigi did not particularly want to see Smoker, least of all so soon after his dancing display with Hina. Perhaps she ought to ask to get sent back to Loguetown, where surely the navy had found a replacement for Captain Smoker. Loguetown was, after all, Tashigi's hometown, and the place she felt most comfortable.

Concluding that a return home was her best option, Tashigi began her search. She decided she would not report that the Straw-Hat Pirates were in town with her: since they had been civil towards her, she would allow them to escape arrest just one more time. Of course, returning to Loguetown would mean that she would never have to worry about trying to capture the Straw-Hat Pirates, since they would probably never return there. In fact, Tashigi thought to herself, she would probably never see any of the Straw-Hat Pirates ever again; unless Luffy achieved his dream of becoming the next Pirate King, meaning that she might see him many years later at his execution. But generally, she was unlikely to see them again. No more Straw-Hat. No more Zoro. No more Wado Ichimonji.

Tashigi slowed her pace, chewing on her lip thoughtfully. She had decided to allow Zoro to keep the Wado Ichimonji in light of the personal value it held for him, but she was disappointed by the idea of never getting to duel with Zoro again. Tashigi did not dream of becoming the greatest swordsman as Zoro did, but she did enjoy being a swordsman, and especially duelling with a strong opponent.

"I'll return to Loguetown… Train harder, become a captain of my own crew, and I'll go after the Straw-Hat Pirates myself!" Tashigi decided, clenching a fist decisively in the air in front of her face.

"You ain't going nowhere, girly."

Tashigi stiffened, her eyes slowly moving to the shadow at her side. Her body tensed as she sighted a large-built man pointing a sword in her direction. Two men stood a short distance behind and at either side of him, grinning at her as she looked fearfully between their faces. Whilst the two men further back seemed like common bandits, Tashigi recognised the man threatening her from the wanted posters she had just been viewing. Although he had only been worth a few thousand, the very fact that he had a bounty on his head warned her that he was a force to be reckoned with.

"You're gonna walk real quietly along this road and turn right onto the next street," the bandit added.

Tashigi crossed her eyes, focusing on the tip of the blade. It was not ridiculously close to her face, and the level of threat it posed depended on the level of skill the bandit possessed. Quickly running her eyes over the man analytically, Tashigi decided that, by his stance and manner of holding his weapon, he was not an expert swordsman, and that if she had a weapon of her own, she could probably best him in a duel.

"Now, girly," he added, taking a step closer to her.

Tashigi leapt back from him, ducking to one side as he lunged forwards, thrusting his sword at the point where she had been standing. Thinking as quickly as she could, Tashigi grabbed the sheath of her Shigure, which she had stubbornly kept with her, swinging it around against the back of the bandit's knees. He stumbled a little, allowing her the chance to leap back from him again. But no sooner had Tashigi straightened than the bandit's two accomplices charged at her. Gasping in alarm, Tashigi swung up the scabbard, catching both men's blades against it. Surprised that her move had actually proved effective, Tashigi hesitated, her eyes moving to the shocked look on her attackers' faces.

"You've made me mad now, girly!" the leader yelled, rounding on Tashigi.

Tashigi let out a small growl of frustration, inwardly cursing her own lack of a weapon. She began to think that she should have kept the Yubashiri Zoro lent her; but she did not have long to dwell on her own regrets, as the leader of the bandits was jabbing his sword in her direction again. Sharply swinging her arm around to throw off her other two attackers, Tashigi leapt back again, watching the large bandit swing his own sword down against the road like an axe. She curled her lip involuntarily at his sickening lack of skill, her disgust turning to surprise at the sight of the blade he wielded. It looked vaguely familiar, as though it was one of the lower ranking fifty fine grade swords. Her mindset suddenly altered, Tashigi moved her eyes to the other two bandits, tightening her grip of the Shigure's scabbard as an idea formed in her mind.

Moving swiftly, Tashigi slid one foot to one side and hacked the sheath downwards, hitting the bandit nearest her in the back of the neck. As Tashigi had caught known weak point, he fell to the ground stunned from the blow, his sword clattering from his hand. The second unknown bandit began to jump over the body of his fallen comrade to attack Tashigi, but she hurriedly skipped over the fallen bandit's legs, crouching to grab up his dropped sword.

"Not so fast!" the wanted bandit yelled, slamming his own sword down onto the one Tashigi sought, blocking her route to retrieving it.

Tashigi scanned her eyes over his sword, silently acknowledging that it was definitely one of the famous named swords she had read about, and not only was it in the hands of a bandit, but it was being wielded by a man who had little or no ability to use it. Tashigi rose sharply to her feet, to which the wanted bandit responded by lifting his sword. Taking advantage of the opening he had offered her, Tashigi kicked the abandoned sword out to one side, hitting back the bandit's own sword as he tried to attack her again. Tashigi decided that she had to act quickly and catch the criminals off-guard; so she did something she knew they would not expect. Tashigi threw her scabbard at the wanted bandit, using his ensuing confusion to dart after the freed sword, hurriedly grabbing it up and turning to attack the second weaker bandit.

Finally having her weapon of choice in her hands, Tashigi cut down the wanted bandit's second assistant with ease before turning on the main criminal himself. He tried to duel with her, but his sword skills were pitiful, and within seconds Tashigi had knocked his sword from his hands. He reluctantly held up his hands in defeat as Tashigi brought the tip of the blade she carried to his throat.

"Give me the sheath for your sword," she demanded.

He frowned at her, eying her over as though he thought she was mad.

"Do it now!" she demanded.

He began fumbling with the sheath, removing it from his side. The sound of heavy footsteps drawing closer momentarily took Tashigi's attention from the bandit. At the sight of a small group of low-ranking marines running towards them, Tashigi felt herself panic.

"Hand it over now!" she yelled urgently.

The bandit nervously threw the sheath at Tashigi's feet. Taking one last glance at the approaching marines, Tashigi dropped the sword she had, grabbed up the sheath the bandit had surrendered along with the sheath for her Shigure and hurried over to retrieve the precious sword she had knocked from his hand. Without so much as a backward glance, Tashigi wrapped her arms around the sword and two scabbards and ran off as fast as she could, not stopping until she had reached the end of the street and run halfway down another street branching away from the bandits and marines behind her.

Tashigi slowed to a halt to catch her breath, slowly replacing her newly acquired sword to its sheath. She did not believe in keeping any of the named swords she sought to recover – after all, that was as good as stealing, and stealing was a criminal's business – but in the absence of her Shigure, she decided to hang onto the sword she had at least for a little while. She did not want to be caught unarmed again, and so she justified her decision as being one of self-preservation.

But, Tashigi thought slowly as she looked down at her newly acquired sword and the Shigure's empty sheath, why had she run away from the marines? After all, she had been on her way to the local naval base to seek help returning to her post, and those officers could have taken her directly there.

Tashigi clutched her treasured items to her chest, silently wondering if she had gone mad.

* * *

"You've made me mad now, girly!"

Zoro lifted his head, frowning a little at the sound of the gruff voice far behind him. The sound of metal against metal captured his interest, and Zoro turned around, his eyes widening as he spotted Tashigi attempting to fight off three bandits with an empty scabbard. Zoro felt the urge to run over and offer his assistance, but as Tashigi managed to somehow throw back two of the bandits and dodge the third one, he wondered if she really needed his help. Despite being nowhere near as strong or skilled as he was, Zoro did appreciate that Tashigi was still a decent swordsman; he could still remember the first time he had encountered her, watching her fight off two bandits effortlessly.

Zoro slowly moved closer to the fight, deciding he would do well to watch her carefully and be ready to attack, but also to get a better view of the girl in action. Suddenly no longer the clumsy, idiotic, nagging, short-sighted girl, she took out one bandit with the scabbard and tried to take his sword. The leader of the band of criminals stopped her with his sword, and the whole fight seemed to pause for a moment. Zoro began to move a little quicker, but promptly stopped short as Tashigi pounced upwards, fending off the leader with her scabbard whilst kicking out the sword she had been trying to retrieve. Zoro had never thought that she could be so resourceful or cunning before – it was almost as though she was an entirely different person when she was in a duel.

Zoro grunted in shock when she then threw her scabbard – her one method of defence – at her attacker and darted off to one side. But he soon saw her reasoning as she grabbed up the sword she had just kicked across the road. Zoro watched quietly as she took out the second bandit with relative ease before turning to commence a duel with the apparent leader of the trio. Determined, unfaltering and strong, she caught his sword, sending it flying out of his hands, and finally pointed her own sword at his throat. Zoro almost expected Tashigi to begin informing the bandit that he was under arrest – but instead she said something entirely different and completely bizarre.

"Give me the sheath for your sword."

Zoro screwed up his face, wondering if the girl was still sick. She was still hurt from her fall after all, and the exertion of fighting off three bandits had maybe just been a little too much for her.

"Do it now!" she demanded, her voice echoing around the street.

Zoro took a step back into the gathering crowd as a group of marines began running towards Tashigi and the bandits, keeping himself concealed from their view as he continued to watch the bandit relinquish his sheath to Tashigi.

"Hand it over now!" she yelled urgently.

The bandit obediently threw the sheath at Tashigi's feet, even looking a little afraid of her as he did so. Zoro watched Tashigi gather up the bandit's sword and sheath along with her own scabbard and then run off at an alarming pace, disappearing from sight before the marines reached the bandits. Zoro screwed up his face in confusion: what was she thinking, running away from the marines? She was a marine, not a criminal! And she had just apprehended a group of bandits!

"Idiot girl," Zoro grumbled. "At this rate, we'll never get rid of her."

* * *

Tashigi sat still and quiet on the edge of the pier, her legs dangling down towards the water. She was sitting quite close to a naval ship, her mind arguing over whether or not she ought to return to the naval base in the village she had left behind. The more she tried to come to a decisive conclusion, the more confused she became. Deep in thought and tense as she clung to the sword she had just recovered and the sheath of her own treasured Shigure, Tashigi did not hear someone approaching her.

"Ow!" she cried as something smacked into the back of her head.

Looking back over her shoulder, Tashigi saw Robin standing a short way behind her, her arms folded across her chest, her face stern.

"You didn't finish reading the book," Robin said plainly, sprouting a hand from the ground at Tashigi's side.

Tashigi recoiled as she watched the hand retrieve the book and hold it out towards her. Tashigi touched a hand to the back of her head as she looked down at the book, realising then that it had been the book that had hit into her head.

"I don't really read romance novels," she began awkwardly, turning to Robin. "I don't think that–"

"Just read the book," Robin insisted, flinging the book into her lap.

"Right…" Tashigi muttered, picking up the book with a dejected sigh.

"We'll be leaving soon," Robin added.

"Okay," Tashigi said with a nod.

'And for now I think I'll just stay with the pirates,' Tashigi thought silently. 'And finish reading this stupid book.'

* * *

 **Next Chapter:**

" _But if I was Willoughby," Zoro continued, much to Tashigi's own personal agony. "That would mean that you would have to be in love with me… And…"_

 _Zoro's face softened, making him suddenly look like a lost little boy as he stared at Tashigi with large eyes._

" _Oh…" he said quietly._

Zoro and Tashigi talk literature, Sanji makes Zoro look like an idiot and Tashigi has a little emotional revelation of her own. **Chapter 14 – Say What You Mean**.


	14. Say What You Mean

**A/N:** Apologies that this chapter is so short. I wonder what I was smoking when I wrote this, since it is very slapstick: slapstick comedy and you will want to slap me with a stick by the time you finish it. Hey ho!

 **Recap:** Tashigi began reading a book Robin gave her and managed to recover a named sword from a group of bandits but then ran away from the marines and left with the Straw-Hats; Zoro was confused by Tashigi's behaviour, and wondered if she would ever leave his crew.

* * *

 **Chapter 14 – Say What You Mean**

Zoro cast Tashigi a withering look, all thoughts of having misjudged her after her performance against the trio of bandits leaving his head. He had spent most of the day thinking about how well she had handled herself in spite of her injuries and her lack of a weapon – after all, being able to defend herself when least prepared for battle was the truest sign of an honourable and powerful warrior – and Zoro had finally worked out a way of explaining to her that she should not have gotten back onto the Going Merry and set sail with them again, since the navy needed someone with her skills. Expecting to find her polishing her newly acquired sword or reading her well-handled sword handbook again, Zoro was more than a little surprised to discover her sprawled in a deckchair, goggles tangled in her hair, one arm hanging at her side, the other loosely holding a book at her chest, her jaw hanging open and emitting small, soft snores, looking as unladylike and undignified as she possibly could.

Tilting his head a little, Zoro read the gold, embossed writing on the cover of book she held, finding what looked more like a novel than any sort of sword or marine book. In fact, he thought to himself, the name of the author sounded vaguely familiar: a writer of dreary, girly romance novels, if Zoro remembered correctly. Which seemed odd to Zoro, as he had never expected a sword-wielding marine like Tashigi to be interested in reading about such silly, girly things. Screwing up his face in confusion, Zoro slowly sat down into a nearby chair, quietly sliding closer to Tashigi. Checking her face to ensure that she was still asleep, Zoro carefully took hold of the book in one hand and began peeling back Tashigi's fingers with the other.

Gently placing Tashigi's now empty hand back onto her chest, Zoro lifted the book away from her, jerking in alarm as she clawed her fist into the material of the shirt she wore, her face creasing into a scowl.

"Oh yeah?" she grunted. "Well you have pink hair!"

"I do not!" Zoro argued back, self-consciously touching a hand to the top of his head.

Tashigi moaned, readjusting herself in the chair before once more softly snoring. Zoro quietly glanced about himself, feeling a little embarrassed at the realisation that Tashigi had been talking in her sleep, and his arguing with her had been both pointless and stupid. Once he was sure that no-one had witnessed his little mishap, Zoro returned his attention to the book he had just acquired from Tashigi. She was apparently halfway through the second last chapter, assuming the pages had not moved since she had fallen asleep. Since Zoro had no interest in romance, far less any interest in reading about it, he turned to the very last chapter, and began reading from there. After all, he decided, if Tashigi was reading the book, it must have something more to offer than just mushy, girly crap.

* * *

Tashigi slowly became aware that what was happening in her mind was no longer a result of anything she was reading, but rather a bizarre dream that had stemmed from Robin's book. Rousing from her slumber, the first thing Tashigi saw was the slightly blurry image of Zoro sat at her side, hunched over the book she had been reading. Certain that she must be mistaken, Tashigi hurriedly picked Usopp's goggles out of her hair and placed them over her eyes, even more alarmed to find that her first impression was true: Zoro was, apparently, reading the book.

"Stupid shit," he grumbled, turning the book over and studying the cover for a moment before lifting the open pages closer to his face to sniff cautiously at them.

"What are you doing, Zoro?" Tashigi asked him quietly.

"Gah!" he yelped, jumping in his seat at her intrusion of his thoughts.

Tashigi watched bemusedly as Zoro's sudden, jerky movement caused the chair to snap shut around his spine, pulling him down to the deck. His feet and hands shot up in the air, the book bouncing across the deck away from him as he tried to struggle his way out of the chair.

"What did you have to do that for?" he growled, his eyes flashing at Tashigi.

Tashigi raised an eyebrow at him, wondering how he expected her to take him seriously was he was sandwiched into a deckchair.

"I didn't do anything," she pointed out.

Zoro began grumbling inaudible complaints under his breath, pushing back with his elbows and slowly prying himself from the chair. Tashigi had been about to offer him some assistance, but since he had decided to be so grumpy, she thought better of it, and contented herself with simply watching him struggle on alone. Besides, she thought with a small smile, it was nice to see the untouchable and graceful warrior struggle with clumsiness for a change.

"What are you doing reading that crap anyway?" Zoro asked as he finally stepped out of the chair, allowing it to clatter to the deck behind him.

"What?" Tashigi echoed, frowning up at him.

"This," he said, snatching up Robin's book. "It's crap. That Colonel Brandon's a shit-head. Why are you reading crap like this?"

Tashigi choked out a giggle-snort, half-expecting Zoro to finish by saying that he was only joking; but the look on his face told her that he was deadly serious.

"Why am I reading crap like that?" she asked. "More importantly Zoro, why are you reading crap like that?"

"What?" Zoro yelped.

Tashigi giggled involuntarily as she saw, for the first time, Zoro begin to blush.

"Ah, no, I wasn't reading it!" he hurriedly argued. "I was just…"

"You were sniffing it," Tashigi added.

To her utter amazement, Zoro's face became redder at her last remark.

"It's stupid!" he said moodily, pouting childishly as he spoke.

Tashigi grinned at his response, unable to contain the delight she felt having Zoro feel silly in her presence as opposed to it being the other way around.

"Robin gave it to me," she offered, deciding that Zoro at least deserved an answer to his questions, since he was apparently suffering such a blow to his pride. "She said I should read it."

"Robin?" Zoro echoed, drawing out her name as though it was a new word he was still learning to pronounce correctly.

"Yes," Tashigi replied. "I fell asleep reading it though. But you've read the whole book?"

"No!"

Zoro waved a hand dismissively, shaking his head as though he no longer cared about the book or their conversation.

"I just read the last chapter," he added quietly. "And a bit more. It's a really stupid book."

"I thought so too," Tashigi agreed.

Zoro pulled a face at her response.

"Why are you still reading it then?" he demanded.

"Because Robin asked me to," Tashigi replied, wording her response carefully so as not to reveal that Robin had actually told her to, and she had been too afraid to argue. "She said I might learn something from Marianne Dashwood."

"Marianne Dashwood?" Zoro scoffed. "She's an idiot! She marries the old man in the end."

"She does?"

Zoro looked a little panicked, but Tashigi ignored his concerns. She did not really care that he had given away the ending of the book, since she had struggled to read it from the beginning, and he had merely spared her the pain of reading it any longer.

"I wonder what I was meant to learn from that?" she mused aloud.

"Maybe Robin thought you were like Marianne, since she fell and sprained her ankle too," Zoro suggested.

Tashigi rose to her feet, watching Zoro's through wide eyes, his face slowly reddening under her glare.

"I thought you said you only read the last chapter…" she began slowly.

"I had to read some other bits to understand the ending!" Zoro hurriedly argued. "There was something in there about a guy called Willoughby, and the ending didn't make any sense until I went back to find out who he was!"

Tashigi slowly nodded her head, folding her arms across her chest, a smirk tugging at her lips.

"I see…" she said sarcastically.

"It was stupid anyway!" Zoro added. "It was just a dumb little story about a stupid, clumsy, ditzy girl who fell in love with some young guy just because he liked the same things that she did, but in the end she married an old man instead!"

Tashigi's smirk vanished, Zoro's gross over-simplification of Robin's book making a lot more sense to her than he had intended it to. Suddenly, after hours upon hours of reading seemingly meaningless romantic prose, Tashigi realised the point Robin had been trying to make: and she was not sure she was comfortable with it at all.

"Stupid!" Zoro said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Or not…" Tashigi muttered, frowning thoughtfully.

Zoro, Tashigi concluded, was oddly insightful. He seemed to have a way of capturing things into words that was not befitting with his generally singular and abrasive personality. His summary of the story was brief but to the point, and it seemed to indicate to Tashigi that Robin had been trying to say that she – Tashigi – was just like Marianne Dashwood: in Zoro's words, "a stupid, clumsy, ditzy girl who fell in love with some young guy just because he liked the same things that she did, but in the end she married an old man instead". Obviously Robin was trying to say that she thought Tashigi had fallen in love with Zoro because of his sword skills, but that she ought to forget Zoro and marry Smoker instead.

"Gah!" Tashigi yelped out loud, her mind expanding further on the ideas of both being in love with Zoro and marrying Smoker.

"What's wrong with you?" Zoro grumbled, squinting at her curiously.

"But she's wrong!" Tashigi wailed. "She's so, so wrong! I'm not Marianne Dashwood!"

Zoro scrunched up his face at her remark.

"Why would you be Marianne Dashwood?" he asked. "Unless… Maybe she meant you are like Marianne Dashwood because Smoker is like Colonel Brandon – he's a strange old man who follows you around a lot and probably wants to marry you."

Tashigi gasped, stumbling a little as she yanked off a boot and threw it at Zoro's head.

"Ow – what the hell?" he yelled, rubbing at his head and pointing at where Tashigi's boot landed on the deck. "What the hell are you doing now, idiot?"

"Don't speak about Captain Smoker like that!" she yelled back, stamping her still booted foot at him.

"I was just speculating!" Zoro argued back. "Maybe Robin meant you are Marianne Dashwood and Smoker is Colonel Brandon! And Willoughby is…"

Zoro rolled his eyes upwards, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully.

"Willoughby must be someone young," he began slowly. "With an interest in swords, and someone you are in love with."

Tashigi went cold as she began to fear that Zoro might make the same connections that she already had between Robin's book and her own life. Before Zoro could reach the conclusion that Robin was accusing Tashigi of being in love with him, Tashigi hurriedly pulled off her other boot, flinging it at Zoro. He turned sharply, catching the boot in the air.

"It's just a stupid book, calm down!" he snapped irritably. "What do I care if you don't understand it?"

"It's a very stupid book!" Tashigi replied, her voice several pitches louder than she had meant to it to be, making her sound rather stupid herself. "I never wanted to read it in the first place!"

"Neither did I!"

"Alright then!"

Zoro arched his eyebrows as though he expected Tashigi to continue, but she only wanted to make him forget about Robin's accursed book – in fact, she thought wryly, she wanted to forget about the book herself.

"When you fell and hurt your ankle, I was the one who carried you to your bed," Zoro said slowly. "Does that make me Willoughby?"

Tashigi paused, no immediate answer coming to her mind. If Zoro was Willoughby, that meant that she had feelings for him, so surely the answer was no?

"I don't know!" she blurted out. "Ask Robin!"

"But if I was Willoughby," Zoro continued, much to Tashigi's own personal agony. "That would mean that you would have to be in love with me… And…"

Zoro's face softened, making him suddenly look like a lost little boy as he stared at Tashigi with large eyes.

"Oh…" he said quietly.

"It wasn't my idea," Tashigi said meekly. "It was Robin who told me to read it!"

Zoro's face slowly began to darken, a sly smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth. Yelping indignantly, Tashigi marched away from him, no longer able to face him in the knowledge that his crewmates thought of her as some silly, dreamer of a girl who fell in love with the most unsuitable men for the most frivolous of reasons. She heard Zoro call after her, but she ignored him, climbing up into the crow's nest and curling up into a ball. It was the only place she had been able to think of that Zoro would not follow her nor would she have to deal with facing Robin and her quiet accusations.

* * *

"You don't know what you're talking about, Marimo."

"Shut-up and die."

"Do you want lunch today?"

"I don't need to rely on you cooking shit for me."

"I don't cook shit. I don't eat it, either."

"Just shut-up and wash those dishes."

"I got a pot of boiling water here, maybe I'll just pour it over your head."

"And maybe I'll just castrate you."

Zoro smiled when Sanji failed to answer his last threat immediately, momentarily believing that he had won the argument.

"You keep your hands out of my pants, sword-boy," Sanji said quietly.

"You wish!" Zoro snorted, before taking a drink from his mug.

"Speaking about my pants, what did you do to Tashigi last night?"

Zoro choked, slamming his mug to the table and spraying the contents of his mouth across the kitchen. Sanji curled a lip, checking himself for any traces of Zoro's spit.

"What?" Zoro eventually recovered.

"Tashigi," Sanji began, still looking disgusted and concerned for his clothes. "She didn't go to bed last night, and she hasn't come down to breakfast yet."

Sanji nodded at the one remaining plate on the table, his face twisting at what he saw.

"That was Luffy's, wasn't it?" Zoro asked innocently.

"No, but obviously he ate it!" Sanji groaned. "What did you do to that poor pretty lady, Zoro?"

"Nothing!" Zoro shouted. "And she didn't do anything in my pants, either!"

Sanji's face dropped for a moment before breaking into an evil grin. Zoro began to falter as he repeated his own words inside his head, realising how bad they had actually sounded.

"You said something about her being inside my pants!" Zoro hurriedly pointed out.

Sanji shook his head, plucking a cigarette from behind his ear and bringing it around to lodge between his teeth.

"You did!" Zoro insisted, thumping his fists onto the table, causing his mug to slosh a little and Tashigi's empty breakfast plate to ring out a dull note as it bounced against the table surface.

"No Marimo, you did," Sanji said, speaking each word slowly and deliberately, savouring the agony they caused Zoro.

Zoro mouthed out a series of silent words, watching Sanji strike a match and light up his cigarette, his grin permanently in place and his one visible eye dancing with mirth.

"You said she was in my pants last night!" Zoro eventually managed.

"I never said that," Sanji denied, before drawing on his cigarette. "You were speaking about getting into my pants, I think."

"I don't want what's in your pants, love-rat!" Zoro snarled angrily.

"I guess not if you had Tashigi in your pants last night," Sanji calmly replied.

"The only person in my pants last night was me, damn it!" Zoro yelled, standing abruptly. "And that's the way it's gonna stay! No-one gets into my pants but me! I'm the only one who gets to touch my pants, or what's in them! I was alone last night, and my hands were the only hands inside my pants, and I'm very happy with it that way, okay?"

Zoro felt quite certain that Sanji could not have any possible rebuttal, and felt quite self-satisfied when Sanji remained silent. After a short pause however, Sanji's eyes did move purposefully from Zoro's to something beyond him. Turning his head out of curiosity, Zoro balked as he caught sight of Luffy, Usopp, Nami and Robin standing in the doorway, staring at him with wide, shocked eyes.

"Did we miss something?" Chopper asked as he and Tashigi joined the others at the doorway.

"Not really," Luffy replied with a shrug. "Zoro was just telling Sanji that when he's alone at night he likes to put his hands inside his pants and touch himself because it makes him very happy."

"What?" Zoro squeaked, his eyes flitting between the three women, all of whom were slowly backing out of the doorway. "I never said that! I wasn't talking about touching myself, I was talking about touching Sanji!"

"Wow Zoro, I always thought you liked girls," Luffy commented, tilting his head to one side in thought.

Zoro growled in frustration, slapping a hand against his forehead. This was, of course, was all that marine girl's fault – she had been nothing but trouble for him since she had first appeared before him in Loguetown.

* * *

Tashigi watched Zoro thump moodily past her, frowning at his back. She sensed that Sanji had been tormenting him again, but Luffy's words were still hanging thick in the air, and she could find no logical excuse for either Luffy's accusation or Zoro's ensuing remarks about wanting to touch Sanji.

"Oh, Robin!" she said, jerking out of her reverie as Robin started to pass her. "I finished the book."

Tashigi held the book out towards Robin, who reached her hand towards it, but did not accept it immediately.

"Did you learn anything?" she asked, arching her eyebrows expectantly at Tashigi.

"Yes I did, actually," Tashigi said with a nod of her head. "But not from Marianne Dashwood."

"No?" Robin asked, retracting her hand slightly.

"I know what you were trying to say," Tashigi replied, lowering her voice. "You think I'm Marianne, Zoro is Willoughby and Captain Smoker is Colonel Brandon, but you're wrong."

Robin withdrew her hand completely, leaning back from Tashigi a little, eying her over curiously.

"I'm nothing like Marianne Dashwood, and Zoro isn't Willoughby and Smoker certainly isn't Brandon," Tashigi continued, moving the book closer to Robin. "I'm more like Elinor Dashwood."

"Oh?" Robin responded, looking suddenly interested.

"Yes," Tashigi confirmed. "You see, Elinor was sensible, and always did what was expected of her, without ever showing too much emotion. And she fell in love with a man who she thought was perfect for her, but then she found out that it could never be because his heart was already taken up by a promise me made to a girl when he was young."

Robin raised her chin, frowning a little as though she did not quite understand Tashigi's meaning.

"Which is what happened to me," Tashigi said with finality. "I was silly once, and I let myself develop feelings over a stupid, girly idea I had in my head. But I was wrong, and it wasn't meant to be."

Robin took a hold of the book, her eyes still fixed on Tashigi.

"Did you read the whole book?" she asked carefully.

"Yes I did," Tashigi replied. "Zoro told me how it all ended, but I read it anyway."

"Zoro?" Robin asked with a small frown. "Zoro can read?"

Tashigi laughed a little at Robin's genuine surprise, but quickly repressed her giggles.

"Anyway," she said with a sigh. "I read it all."

"Because in the end, Elinor marries the man she fell in love with," Robin pointed out.

"That won't happen to me," Tashigi quietly replied. "My story is a little different. The man in my life values his promise to the girl above all else."

Tashigi released the book, forcing a tight smile.

"Excuse me," she said softly, before turning and walking off, leaving Robin behind her.

As much as she hated to admit it, Robin's book had proved relevant after all; but, as she had tried to explain to Robin, her hopes and feelings had to be pushed aside because her life was not a cheerful little romance novel that would have a happy ending.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:**

" _But wouldn't that only be a problem if you were in love with Smoker yourself?"_

 _Zoro expected Tashigi to have an instant comeback to his question, something along the lines of her never thinking that way about a superior officer, something about Smoker being a moody smart-ass that she could never possibly love – but instead she remained infuriatingly silent._

" _Are you in love with Smoker?" Zoro eventually asked, his patience wearing thin._

" _No," she answered, her tone flat and lacking in conviction. "But I was once."_

Zoro and Tashigi have a little heart-to-heart, Smoker continues his search for Tashigi and the Straw-Hat Pirates, and the Going Merry lands on an island neither Zoro or Tashigi want to set foot on. **Chapter 15 – Got Your Back**.


	15. Got Your Back

**Recap:** Zoro read Robin's book and thought it was stupid, Tashigi read Robin's book and thought she was stupid.

* * *

 **Chapter 15 – Got Your Back**

Zoro grumbled curses to himself as he swung a bar mounted with weights about, wielding it like an impossibly heavy sword. He knew that his pirate crew were each the best at what they did, and he often had great fun with them – but at other times, they all seriously annoyed him, and the only way for him to vent his anger without hurting one of them was for him to train even harder.

"Zoro?"

"What?" Zoro snarled, without turning around or stopping at the sound of his name.

"Sanji's serving lunch!"

"Don't want any!"

Zoro was relieved that his last words appeared to end the conversation, particularly since it had been Tashigi's voice talking to him. She really was the very last person onboard the Going Merry he wanted to talk to right then. Every time he thought he had figured her out and learned to deal with her, she did or said something that turned him into a pathetic wreck of a boy again. And Robin apparently thought that there was something romantic between them. And that damn cook had everyone thinking that Zoro was some sort of loner pervert.

"You can eat it out here, if you like!"

Zoro stopped, allowing the end of his weighted rod to thump against the deck. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Tashigi standing behind him with a plate in one hand and two mugs in the other. He frowned at her questioningly, but she merely smiled in return, only serving to irk him further.

"I said I don't want anything," he muttered.

"You must be hungry," Tashigi replied.

Infuriating girl, Zoro thought to himself.

"Okay fine," he ground out, stomping over to her.

"I thought I'd join you," she said as he neared her.

"Do what you want, I don't care," Zoro moodily replied, taking one of the mugs from her and grabbing at the plate she held.

"We have to share," she said, tugging back at the plate.

"What?" he echoed, searching her eyes for any signs that she was joking.

"I couldn't carry two plates and two mugs," she explained.

Zoro sighed loudly and dramatically, but Tashigi's amiable expression did not falter.

"Fine then," he agreed, turning his back on her and moving over to sit on the lower steps of the staircase leading to the upper deck.

"You know you shouldn't feel bad about what happened earlier," Tashigi said behind him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zoro grumbled, turning his head from her to look out to sea.

"I say silly things all the time," she continued, sitting onto the step below him and turning to look up at him. "And I do lots of silly things that I always regret. It's no big deal."

Zoro watched her from the corner of his eye, wondering what she wanted from him this time.

"I wasn't saying I wanted to touch Sanji," he said quietly. "I said I was going to castrate him because he's such a pervert."

"I guessed Luffy maybe overlooked some of the details when he accused you of touching yourself," Tashigi replied.

"I don't touch myself!" Zoro yelped, rounding on her in alarm at the oddly relaxed expression on her face when discussing such a delicate matter.

"I believe you," she replied.

"Well good!"

Zoro grabbed a bread roll from the plate she held, taking a large bite out of it and looking back out to sea as he chewed.

"I'm sure it's not the worst thing you've ever done or said," Tashigi said quietly.

"Mo," Zoro said, his voice muffled through a mouthful of bread, as he shook his head.

"At least your friends are kind about it."

"Kind?"

Zoro eyed Tashigi over, wondering if she was being sarcastic; but the oddly distant look and small smile on her face as she gazed out across the deck of the ship told him that she genuinely believed what she had just said.

"Most of the officers in my division are older than me, and I'm the only woman," she said slowly, her eyes still looking at something at the other end of the ship. "A lot of them resent me. And it's even worse with men from other divisions who don't really know me. If I had said something as damning as you did this morning, they would still be ostracising me for it six months afterwards."

Zoro twitched irritably, wondering if he ought to ask her what the word "ostracising" meant. He sensed from her tone and the context she used it that it was something bad, but the more he thought about it, the more his mind kept presenting him with the image of an ostrich wearing red-rimmed glasses and supporting a sword under one wing.

"And I don't just have to worry about saying or doing something silly in the navy," Tashigi continued, oblivious to Zoro's confusion behind her. "Because some of the officers play nasty tricks on me. I get nervous, which makes me more of a klutz, which means I make more mistakes and they laugh even harder at me."

"Why do you care what they think?" Zoro asked her, feeling genuinely curious as to why she did. "If you out-rank them, can't you just court martial them or something?"

Tashigi turned to face him, quirking an amused eyebrow and smirking darkly up at him.

"I need approval from my commanding officer for that sort of thing," she pointed out.

Zoro shrugged his shoulders.

"So get Smokey to do it for you," he said frankly.

"I can't," she replied.

"Why not?" Zoro asked, finding himself grinning as a silly idea occurred to him. "He's your Colonel Brandon, isn't he?"

"Oh please, not that again!" she groaned.

"You don't think it's funny?"

"No!"

Zoro snorted, shaking his head at her outraged response.

"It's hilarious!" he insisted. "Robin thinking that you were in love with me, ha!"

To Zoro's chagrin, Tashigi turned her head away from him upon his last remark, preventing him from reading her features. Since their conversation about the book the night before he had genuinely become curious as to whether or not there was any merit behind Robin's assumptions about Tashigi's feelings for him. He was not really sure why he cared – after all, he had no time for silly girls and their ideas of romance – but he had lost a lot of sleep wondering about it.

"Love is a strange thing, isn't it?"

Zoro grunted out a noise of confusion, screwing up his face at the back of Tashigi's head. What sort of question was that to ask? What did she expect him to say?

"I wouldn't know," he eventually spat out at her.

"You must know," she said firmly, turning to lock eyes with him, pinning him down with her glare just as she had done the very first time he met her.

"Why must I know?" Zoro asked pitifully, feeling inexplicably weak all of a sudden.

"Everybody has loved somebody, even you, Roronoa Zoro," she slowly replied.

"No…" Zoro said quietly. "I don't have time for shit like that!"

"Oh come on, Zoro!"

"What?"

"You've never loved anyone? Not even a silly little crush? Not ever?"

Zoro paused, deciding to at least give her line of questioning some thought. In the early years after Kuina's death, he had often thought that he might have had a crush on Kuina – but not for the same shallow reasons as the other boys at the dojo, liking her for her skill and passion rather than her prettiness. Beyond that, there was one very small, niggling idea, nestled deep inside of him that hinted at an attraction to someone he had only come into contact with since becoming a Straw-Hat Pirate; but Zoro quickly repressed the thought as he had done so many times before.

"No," he eventually announced. "Romance is for girls."

"Roronoa Zoro, you are a social retard!" Tashigi yelled at him, jumping up and turning to jab a finger at his nose.

"What?" Zoro yelped. "Why are you getting so aggressive? You asked the question!"

"Oh Zoro, you're hopeless!"

"Hey, don't stand there and insult me, I haven't done anything wrong!"

"All you care about is swords, working out and drinking rum!"

"Ha! All you care about is swords, nagging and being a marine!"

"I love swords, and being a marine is my life!"

Zoro twisted his eyebrows at Tashigi, deciding that her last statement really did not need an answer from him.

"I loved being a marine," she said softly, her face dropping as she spoke. "I loved training others in good swordsmanship, I loved ensuring justice was served, I loved helping people and I loved working with Captain Smoker."

"Which is why you have to go back," Zoro said quietly, capitalising on her words.

"I can't go back Zoro, there isn't a place for me there any more," Tashigi sighed dejectedly, dropping herself back down onto the step below Zoro.

"Old man Smoker was probably just drunk that day he passed you in the water," Zoro offered. "He did wave at Luffy!"

"He was just so happy to be rid of me."

"No, something was definitely wrong. Or do you sailors do those dance routines all the time?"

Tashigi snorted out a noise that sounded a little like laughter to Zoro; but since she had her back turned to him, he could not confirm it.

"That day we passed the naval ship," she began slowly. "Captain Smoker was dancing with a lady."

"I remember that," Zoro replied.

"She's Smoker's lover," Tashigi explained.

"So?" Zoro asked, shrugging his shoulders. "What does that have to do with you being a marine?"

"Well… Nothing I guess. It's just that I don't think I can go back now that they are together."

"But wouldn't that only be a problem if you were in love with Smoker yourself?"

Zoro expected Tashigi to have an instant comeback to his question, something along the lines of her never thinking that way about a superior officer, something about Smoker being a moody smart-ass that she could never possibly love – but instead she remained infuriatingly silent.

"Are you in love with Smoker?" Zoro eventually asked, his patience wearing thin.

"No," she answered, her tone flat and lacking in conviction. "But I was once."

Zoro opened his mouth to question her, feeling certain that he must have misheard; but she stood up, collected her own mug and walked off, leaving him feeling even more confused than ever. As she walked along the deck, Zoro saw her wipe a hand at her eyes, wincing at the realisation that she was probably crying. Zoro wondered what had upset her the most, and what she would do next. As much as he wanted her off the Going Merry, he did not really wish her any ill will, and he had even begun to accept that she would always be chasing him, always challenging him, and it had not seemed like such a bad thought after all.

* * *

"At least your friends are kind about it."

"Kind?"

Tashigi smiled whimsically at Zoro's tone, wondering if he would ever understand the complexities of human nature. She seemed to spend most of her time explaining everything she said over and over to him just to get a slight nod of comprehension out of him.

"Most of the officers in my division are older than me, and I'm the only woman," she began, once more imparting an explanation that she hoped would make him see her point. "A lot of them resent me. And it's even worse with men from other divisions who don't really know me. If I had said something as damning as you did this morning, they would still be ostracising me for it six months afterwards."

Still Zoro remained silent, and so obviously he was still in the dark, Tashigi concluded.

"And I don't just have to worry about saying or doing something silly in the navy," she continued. "Because some of the officers play nasty tricks on me. I get nervous, which makes me more of a klutz, which means I make more mistakes and they laugh even harder at me."

"Why do you care what they think?" Zoro asked her casually, as though his question meant little. "If you out-rank them, can't you just court martial them or something?"

Tashigi turned to face him, quirking an amused eyebrow and smirking darkly up at him.

"I need approval from my commanding officer for that sort of thing," she pointed out.

Zoro shrugged his shoulders.

"So get Smokey to do it for you," he said frankly.

"I can't," she replied, silently adding that to do so was to once more admit weakness to her all-but-invincible captain.

"Why not?" Zoro asked, an impish grin appearing on his face. "He's your Colonel Brandon, isn't he?"

"Oh please, not that again!" Tashigi groaned.

"You don't think it's funny?"

"No!"

Zoro snorted coarsely and shook his head.

"It's hilarious!" he insisted. "Robin thinking that you were in love with me, ha!"

Tashigi turned her head from Zoro, his words hitting a raw nerve. She was affronted to think that Robin thought of her as the silly little girl who had fallen in love with the wrong, rebellious boy, the silly little girl who needed a sensible older man to tell her what to do and take care of her. But more than that, reading the book to the end she had begun to empathise with the character named Elinor, to the point that she had stayed awake most of the night, squashed in the crow's nest, battling through her confusing and conflicting emotions.

"Love is a strange thing, isn't it?" she mused aloud.

She heard Zoro release a boorish grunt behind her, apparently thinking she was an idiot again.

"I wouldn't know," he said.

"You must know," Tashigi shot back, turning to glare at him.

"Why must I know?" Zoro asked, his voice cracking a little to reveal a hint of discomfort.

"Everybody has loved somebody, even you, Roronoa Zoro," she slowly replied.

"No…" Zoro said quietly. "I don't have time for shit like that!"

"Oh come on, Zoro!"

"What?"

"You've never loved anyone? Not even a silly little crush? Not ever?"

To Tashigi's relief, Zoro adopted a genuinely pensive look, his eyebrows drawing together, his eyes clouding over a little and his jaw squaring as he apparently relived some old memories. She just wanted to know that he was human, that she was not the only person in the world who battled with her heart to follow the instructions from her head; to know that romance was not just something in books and something girls dreamt and fantasised about, that it was real, that men felt it too.

"No," he eventually announced. "Romance is for girls."

"Roronoa Zoro, you are a social retard!" Tashigi yelled at him furiously, jumping up and turning to jab a finger at his nose.

"What?" Zoro yelped. "Why are you getting so aggressive? You asked the question!"

"Oh Zoro, you're hopeless!" Tashigi snarled through tightly clenched teeth, his answer proving to be the most inappropriate thing she had ever heard him say.

"Hey, don't stand there and insult me, I haven't done anything wrong!"

"All you care about is swords, working out and drinking rum!"

"Ha! All you care about is swords, nagging and being a marine!"

"I love swords, and being a marine is my life!"

Zoro pulled a questioning face at her, as though he suspected her loyalty to her ambitions and her career.

"I loved being a marine," she said softly, a lump forming in her throat as she found it only suitable to use the past tense when talking about her life as a sergeant major of the navy. "I loved training others in good swordsmanship, I loved ensuring justice was served, I loved helping people and I loved working with Captain Smoker."

"Which is why you have to go back," Zoro said quietly.

"I can't go back Zoro, there isn't a place for me there any more," Tashigi sighed dejectedly, dropping herself back down onto the step below where he sat.

"Old man Smoker was probably just drunk that day he passed you in the water," Zoro offered. "He did wave at Luffy!"

"He was just so happy to be rid of me," Tashigi said sadly.

"No, something was definitely wrong. Or do you sailors do those dance routines all the time?"

Tashigi snorted out a burst of ironic laughter, her eyes blurring a little as tears threatened.

"That day we passed the naval ship," she began slowly. "Captain Smoker was dancing with a lady."

"I remember that," Zoro replied.

"She's Smoker's lover," Tashigi explained, feeling sickeningly less than surprised that even a dope like Zoro had noticed the beautiful and flawless Captain Hina.

"So?" Zoro asked. "What does that have to do with you being a marine?"

"Well…" Tashigi began. "Nothing I guess. It's just that I don't think I can go back now that they are together."

"But wouldn't that only be a problem if you were in love with Smoker yourself?"

Tashigi closed her eyes at Zoro's words, the burn of tears stinging her eyes, a single drop escaping one eye and slipping over the curve of her cheek.

"Are you in love with Smoker?" Zoro asked when she did not answer him.

"No," she answered flatly, keeping her eyes closed as she spoke. "But I was once."

Tashigi quickly rose to her feet, opening her eyes to locate her mug of water, which she gladly grabbed up before briskly walking away from Zoro, quietly sniffing as another tear escaped her other eye. Swiping a hand angrily at the wet marks on her face, Tashigi tried not to think about her predicament; but found her mind defying her wishes, slowly and painstakingly replaying cringe-worthy memories of her early days under Captain Smoker's tutelage. Tashigi had been working under Smoker for almost five years, and she had matured greatly in that time; but she still could not forget how silly and immature she had been when she had first started her career with Smoker. She had been sixteen, and he had been a cool, calm, in-control man who was not afraid to stand up to his superiors, followed his own rules and never wore a shirt. Within a matter of weeks of working alongside him, Tashigi had developed the most ridiculous crush on him, to the point that she could not look him in the eye or listen to his voice without blushing so hard her glasses steamed up.

Tashigi sighed, hanging her head as she recalled such ludicrous thoughts as getting excited about her first promotion because it meant Smoker would have to shake her hand at the awarding ceremony, and the idea of touching him left her breathless and giddy. And she groaned audibly, her knees buckling beneath her as she remembered pleading ignorance to the exact technique for resuscitating victims of asphyxiation as a weak and transparent attempt to get Smoker to demonstrate the kiss of life on her. Cringing at the memory, Tashigi could still see Smoker standing in front of her, his hands on his hips, staring down at her incredulously as she knelt in front of the practise dummy in a training room in the Loguetown naval base.

"It's not hard," he had said to her. "And it's a very important skill, especially when you have a Devil Fruit user like myself on your crew. One day I might need you to do this for me."

Smoker's words were only logical, but at the time Tashigi had melted at the image they conjured up in her lovesick young mind. Recalling her behaviour only made Tashigi all the more certain that she could never go back to Captain Smoker – in fact, she began to wonder how she had ever managed to continue working for him after such embarrassing moments.

Thinking harder on the matter, Tashigi slowly came to realise that she had gradually grown up, her opinion of Smoker changing with time. She could not pinpoint any particular time or event that had caused her feelings to change, but she did know that she no longer saw Smoker the way she did when she was younger. Now he was just a colleague, a good boss and a confidant.

'But even that's not true any more,' Tashigi thought miserably. 'Because now he's nothing to me, and I may not ever see him again.'

Tashigi stood up straight, her senses numbing as an insane idea occurred to her. She needed something to help her sort through her muddled emotions, and this idea might be just the solution she sought. Without wasting time thinking about it, Tashigi turned on her heel and marched back to Zoro, who was heading back across the deck to return his mug and plate to the kitchen.

"Zoro?" she called, stopping him in his tracks.

"What?" he asked, turning his head towards her.

"I need a favour," Tashigi said bluntly.

"More training?" Zoro asked.

"No, this."

Tashigi grabbed Zoro's face in her hands and pulled him to her, pressing her lips to his. He groaned against her at first, but soon moved his hands to her sides pulling her closer and relaxing against her.

* * *

"Cross my palm with silver."

Smoker thinned his eyes, growling at the withered little old hag sat cross-legged in front of him.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear," he ground out. "I'm a captain of the navy, and this is marine business."

"You pay me now and I will look into my crystal ball…"

Smoker turned his head away, clenching his fists to stop himself from grabbing her stupid crystal ball and hurling it out the window.

"Did you, or did you not, see this girl or this ship?" he asked patiently, pushing the pictures of Straw-Hat's ship and Tashigi closer to the woman.

"For ten thousand Beli, I will tell you about the girl," the woman offered, waving a hand over the pictures.

"I don't make deals with gypsies…" Smoker warned her. "And I don't bribe them either. With-holding information from a marine is a criminal offence, you do know that?"

"I sense much trouble in your future."

"I don't give a… Have you seen the girl or the ship?"

"You will encounter an expert swordsman, who will defeat you in battle."

Smoker sighed, grabbing up the picture of Straw-Hat's ship and Tashigi and rising abruptly to his feet.

"You have a terrible weakness, it will be used against you," the woman added.

"I don't believe in fortune-telling," Smoker tightly replied. "The future is what you make it. And since you refuse to talk, you're no use to me any more."

Smoker turned his back on the woman and marched towards the door, barely catching her last words as he exited the small cottage.

"The ship you seek left our island yesterday, changed course and headed west."

Smoker sighed, feeling a weight lifting from his shoulders.

"Finally," he grumbled, turning in the direction of the harbour and briskly walking back to his ship.

* * *

"I saw what you did earlier."

"Gah!"

Zoro yelped, jumping back from the railings, sweat breaking out across his brow as Nami eyed him over slyly.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" he snapped. "I have the attack reflex of a ninja!"

"Of course it all makes so much sense now," Nami said with a sigh. "Why you couldn't stop staring at her when she first came on board, why your face goes red when anyone talks about her–"

"My face does not go red when anyone talks about her!" Zoro interrupted her, straightening his back indignantly.

"It's going red now, Zoro…"

Zoro scrunched up his nose at her angrily, but he could not deny that his face was steadily growing warmer as they spoke.

"I don't even know who you're speaking about," he tried.

"It's too late to use that excuse, Zoro," Nami replied, pouting at him in mock sympathy. "So Zoro, I had a little bet going with Sanji… Was that the first time you've ever kissed a girl?"

"What?" Zoro yelped.

"I bet that it was," Sanji said into his ear, appearing suddenly at his shoulder.

"Get away from me, curly brows!" Zoro snapped, leaping away from Sanji.

"You were so nervous, that's gotta be the first time you've kissed a girl," Sanji continued, grinning shamelessly. "It looked like she had to show you what to do!"

"They have names for people like you," Zoro growled at the ship's chef. "People who like to watch other people doing… Things!"

"So Zoro, I bet Sanji that you had kissed a girl before," Nami said, stepping towards Zoro as she spoke. "If I win this bet, I might stop the interest on the money you owe me for a whole week!"

"I also bet that Usopp has kissed more girls than you have Marimo," Sanji added.

"So Zoro, have you kissed a girl before?" Nami asked, planting her hands on her hips and tilting her head to one side, smirking coyly at him.

Zoro turned to face her directly, quirking an eyebrow at her stance, pausing for long enough to allow her to qualify what she had just said.

"Yes, I have kissed other girls," he said slowly. "You know that Nami."

Nami darted a nervous glance at Sanji, her smirk vanishing and her cheeks turning pink.

"What?" Sanji grunted, glancing back and forth between Zoro and Nami.

"And you weren't the first girl I kissed either," Zoro added, pointing at Nami as he spoke.

"What!" Sanji squeaked, his cigarette dropping from his mouth and rolling across the deck. "How dare you say those things about my lovely Nami-swan?"

Zoro turned to Sanji, eying him over disdainfully before turning back to Nami, who looked oddly nervous.

"One million Beli!" she wailed, stamping a foot at him before turning and running off.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Zoro yelled after her. "I can't ever repay an amount like that!"

Zoro sighed, shaking his head as Nami disappeared from view. He had never known anyone so obsessed and shrewd with money, and he was certain that he would never know anyone in the future who was quite so material as Nami.

"You… Kissed… Nami…?"

Zoro turned his head, raising his eyebrows at the sight of Sanji standing behind him, his eyes large, a hurt and terrified look tugging at his features. Zoro allowed a grin to spread across his face as he turned to look Sanji straight in the eye.

"Yes," he replied. "Many, many, many times…"

Walking up to stand level with Sanji, Zoro turned his head to watch Sanji's reaction to his parting comment.

"And that's not all I've done to her."

The pitiful squeaking noise Sanji made brought tears of laughter to Zoro's eyes. Walking off as he laughed at the cook's predicament, Zoro managed to suppress a groan as he heard Luffy telling Usopp and Chopper that they would be landing on the next island, because there was a carnival.

* * *

Tashigi frowned, wondering why the Going Merry had stopped again so soon. Yet again Luffy ran off onto the new island, leaving his crew far behind him. The more time she spent with Luffy, the harder she found it to believe that he was the same young man who had defeated Crocodile and had a bounty of 100 million on his head. And this time, she thought, Luffy running off was even more ridiculous, as the sun was sinking in the sky, and within an hour it would be dark.

"We better go find Luffy," Nami said with sigh, rolling her eyes.

Tashigi slowly made her way off the ship, every footfall coming slower and slower, her eyes moving faster than her legs as an odd sense of déjà vu began to sink into her. The island they had landed on looked familiar: but from her vantage point, it was nothing more than thick forestland, dissected by vague footpaths, a small mountain visible beyond the tops of the trees. It was really no different to the majority of islands in the area, but to Tashigi, something was decidedly familiar about her surroundings.

Trying to ignore the growing sense of foreboding swirling around in her gut, Tashigi forced herself onwards, not wishing to lose sight of the Straw-Hat Pirates in an ever-darkening forest.

"What is this place anyway?" Usopp asked, his voice uneven, betraying his fear.

"Probably just some uninhabited island," Sanji casually replied.

"This is Port Leviathan," Robin said quietly.

Tashigi frowned, the name registering as familiar to her, and yet still she could not place exactly why it was so significant to her.

"What?" Zoro barked. "What are we doing here? Is Luffy out of his mind?"

"Why, what's so special about this island Zoro?" Chopper asked him.

"The town here is run by bandits, it's a bounty hunter's haven," Zoro replied. "Do you know how many people get killed here everyday?"

Tashigi stopped short, her breath stilling in her lungs as she suddenly remembered exactly why she knew the name Port Leviathan. Just as Zoro had said, it was filled with criminals, and the navy occasionally intercepted, but usually lost more men than they killed or arrested. Visiting the island as a marine was commonly known amongst the ranks of the navy as career suicide, as any officers who did actually manage to survive the island were usually driven mad by what they had witnessed, and left the marines anyway.

Tashigi began to feel light-headed as she recalled her own personal experience of the place, her memories slowly replaying the whole ordeal, omitting none of the gruesome details despite the tear they created in her soul.

"Stay alert."

Zoro's voice sounded distant to Tashigi's ears, but the sound of him flicking a sword out a little brought her back to her current situation and surroundings.

"We're being watched," Sanji said under his breath, taking one last draw on his cigarette before dropping it to the ground and stubbing it out with his foot.

"Why did we have to come here?" Usopp wailed.

"We're surrounded," Zoro said quietly, slowly drawing out the Kitetsu. "I hope Luffy didn't get himself into any trouble he can't handle."

Tashigi froze as a faint whistling sound rang through the air only to scream in alarm as a dagger thumped into a nearby tree. At the sight of the unknown weapon, logic left Tashigi's mind and she turned her back on it, running into the trees. She heard her name being called behind her, but she did not dare slow down or look back. Running blindly, zig-zagging through the trees and burying herself into the darkness of the forest and rapidly encroaching nightfall, Tashigi only stopped at the sound of a twig snapping in front of her. Skidding ungraciously to a halt, Tashigi looked desperately about herself, seeing little more than the trees immediately by her, the density of the forest and the darkness of the sky overhead leaving everything else buried in blackness.

Swallowing nervously, Tashigi carefully backed herself up against a tree to protect her back, carefully squinting through the darkness for any signs of movement. A glint of metal at her side brought Tashigi's attention sharply around. With one hand she quickly and quietly withdrew her new sword, and with the other she felt her way around the tree, using it as a shield against the approaching threat. Tashigi peered around the trunk of the tree, focussing all her attention on the point where she had seen the flash of light, waiting expectantly for someone or something to emerge; but unfortunately, by concentrating all her efforts on one area, Tashigi failed to notice the threat behind her until it was upon her.

Tashigi cried out fearfully as something grabbed her hair, yanking her back with enough force to throw her to the ground. Almost dropping her sword as her back hit the ground, Tashigi hurriedly tried to locate the new threat whilst trying to keep a hold of her sword and keep her senses about her.

"Don't move," a voice warned her.

Tashigi shifted her eyes to one side, finding a tall man in a long overcoat standing over her, a sword pointed at her throat.

"I've got you now, pirate," he said darkly. "I wonder what the navy will pay for your head?"

Tashigi gasped at the horrifying realisation that not only was the man threatening her a bounty hunter, but that he apparently thought that she was a pirate!

"I'm a marine!" she wailed.

"Don't give me that shit!" the man growled threateningly.

"Sergeant Major Tashigi of Loguetown!" Tashigi roared, before rolling over and leaping to her feet, barely managing to catch the bounty hunter's sword against her own as he swung his sword at her mid-section.

"If you won't come quietly, things could get nasty for you," the man warned her. "It makes no difference to me if I take you in dead or alive."

Tashigi scowled at him, her anger at being accused of being a pirate fuelling her attack as she charged at him. Tashigi was a little alarmed to find that this man was not an easy opponent, moving quickly and having a great strength behind his blows. Tashigi found herself stumbling back with every strike, their duel starting to resemble one of Tashigi's encounters with Zoro. But she told herself firmly she would not die only to have her body handed in as that of a common pirate. Redoubling her efforts, Tashigi tried to take more of an offensive role, trying to remember Zoro's advise about not being too stiff in her movements.

"Not bad, but you're no match for me, little girl," the man snarled, aiming a swinging shot at Tashigi's head.

Ducking aside and letting his blade bite into a tree, Tashigi gasped in horror at his words.

"You don't think I have any skill just because I'm a woman?" she snapped.

"I know you don't have any skill because you are a woman," the man frankly replied, yanking his sword from the tree. "Without the men in your pirate crew, you're useless."

Tashigi lunged forwards, stabbing her sword at the man's mid-section in her rage. He jumped back out of her range, his eyes flitting from hers, an odd look passing over his features. To Tashigi's surprise, he jumped back again, dodging through the trees and disappearing from her sight. Tashigi frowned curiously, wondering what could have frightened him off so suddenly; but the sound of movement behind her warned her that she was not alone. Assuming that whatever was behind her was the cause of the bounty hunter's retreat, Tashigi tightened her grip on her sword and swung around, hacking through the air in the hope of catching the threat behind her, or at least keeping it at bay.

Tashigi groaned quietly as her arm jarred, her sword clanging hard against another blade that did not even flinch from the force of her attack. Taking a wary step back, Tashigi did not see anything beyond the blade in front of her at first, thoughts of ghosts and demons playing on her mind. But as she watched the sword, the form of a person slowly took place behind it, the image causing Tashigi's jaw to fall open and her grip to weaken on her own weapon.

"Cu-ah…" she stuttered, her sword slipping a little. "Captain Smoker?"

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Smoker finally catches up to Tashigi, and during their reunion, Zoro joins them to increase the confusion – but Tashigi makes a decision about her future. **Chapter 16 – Tashigi the Musician**.


	16. Tashigi the Musician

**Chapter 16 – Tashigi the Musician**

Smoker stood on the beach for a prolonged period, his hands on his hips, his eyes scrutinising the ship docked in front of him. He found it impossible to believe that Tashigi would let herself get anywhere near Port Leviathan, and yet the ship in front of him was definitely the Straw-Hat Pirates' ship. Smoker began to wonder if she was still with the pirates: maybe she had returned to the navy already. But, remembering distinctly his last visit to the island some three years ago with Tashigi, Smoker decided he ought to at least seek out Zoro and check that Tashigi was no longer with him. Typically just the mention of the island's name was enough to send Tashigi into an incurable state of shock, and Smoker had to know that those damned pirates had not taken her to such a hellish place.

Starting off along the most visible footpath, Smoker did not have to travel for long before the sounds of swords clashing drew his attention into the thick of the trees. Expecting to find bandits or mediocre pirates, Smoker was surprised to see a notorious bounty hunter battling with a girl in odd clothing. Moving closer Smoker was even more surprised to see just who the bounty hunter was duelling with.

"Not bad, but you're no match for me, little girl," the bounty hunter spat arrogantly, attempting to behead Tashigi.

Tashigi dodged his attack, looking more concerned with the man's words than his actions.

"You don't think I have any skill just because I'm a woman?" she snapped.

"I know you don't have any skill because you are a woman," the bounty hunter replied. "Without the men in your pirate crew, you're useless."

The bounty hunter's words struck a raw nerve in Smoker – Tashigi was still with the Straw-Hat Pirates, and apparently was one of their crew. Looking her over, Smoker silently acknowledged that she was even dressed in moderately conservative pirate clothing. Not wishing to prolong the agony of learning the truth behind Tashigi's departure, Smoker stepped forwards, dissolving into a cloud of smoke as the bounty hunter looked in his direction. Obviously scared off by what he saw of Smoker's powers, the bounty hunter fled, leaving Tashigi alone, her back to Smoker.

Feeling as though his journey had been a little wasted, Smoker silently decided that he would just return Tashigi's sword to her and leave. Pulling the sword from its place attached to his jutte, he suddenly found himself being forced to use the weapon to defend himself from Tashigi and she shot around with surprising speed and agility, clanging her new sword against the Shigure in Smoker's hand. Smoker heard Tashigi let out a small groan before she took a small step back from him, squinting at him through the odd pair of goggles she was wearing. Returning his entire body to its normal form, Smoker took a step towards her, watching her expression twist into one of unbridled horror.

"Cu-ah…" she stuttered weakly. "Captain Smoker?"

Smoker frowned, surprised to hear her call him by his title; but his surprise was short-lived as the sword she carried fell to the ground with a clatter and she stumbled back a few steps, her back hitting into a tree.

"Here," Smoker said gruffly, flipping her sword over to catch the blade in his gloved hand, holding the hilt out towards her. "This is yours."

Tashigi stared at him, her eyes and mouth wide open, giving her a slightly ghostly appearance in the increasing darkness around them. Her eyes lowered to the sword, a strange sound escaping her throat.

"Shigure!" she gushed, reaching a hand towards it.

Her fingertips barely touched the hilt before she suddenly snatched her hand back, her back thudding against the tree again.

"What…" she began, frowning up at Smoker. "How did… I thought that…"

Smoker sighed, looking down at the sword, finding it harder and harder to look at her face knowing that she had chosen to become a pirate.

"I thought I'd lost it," she whispered.

"It sank with the ship," Smoker bluntly replied. "I see you've still got the sheath, you must have been missing it, so why don't you take it already?"

Smoker met her eyes sharply, watching her clutch a fist to her heart, her bottom lip trembling a little.

"What are you doing here anyway?" he added.

"I didn't know where I was," she replied shakily. "But what are you doing here?"

"What the hell do you think I'm doing here?" Smoker snapped, eying her over incredulously.

Did she honestly think that he had given up trying to recover her?

"Take the sword Tashigi," he insisted, thrusting the hilt towards her moodily.

"Thank you," she said, curling her fingers around the hilt.

Releasing his hold of the blade, Smoker caught sight of a dressing around Tashigi's left wrist, his brow furrowing as he wondered how she had injured herself. Moving his eyes back up to her face, he sighed as he caught her gazing lovingly at her precious Shigure.

"I've abandoned my duties for long enough," he said quietly, reaching a hand behind his head and taking hold of his jutte. "I'm sure you can appreciate that I have a responsibility to take you in."

Tashigi lifted her head, watching him with an unreadable expression. As he drew out his jutte, her face faltered a little, but otherwise she appeared numb to what was happening.

"Of all the marines I've ever worked with, you were the last one I ever expected to turn on me," he growled out, pointing his jutte at Tashigi, almost relieved to see her face twist in horror.

"What are you doing?" she gasped, glancing back and forth between the tip of his jutte and his face.

"Placing you under arrest," Smoker bluntly replied.

"What?" Tashigi roared, her eyes flashing angrily. "What for?"

"For being a pirate, idiot!"

"I'm not a pirate!"

"Joining a pirate crew, fighting alongside pirates, dressing like pirates and living with pirates makes you a pirate!"

"I had no other choice! You left me with those pirates! You were too busy dancing with Hina to care what happened to me! I was terrified and alone, and you were dancing and partying!"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"I saw you!"

"And I saw you "saluting" me."

"You asked for that!"

Smoker paused, surprised at Tashigi's comeback. He had expected to catch her off-guard by revealing his knowledge of her offensive gestures towards him, but she was still enraged and determined, and had not missed a beat in snarling out her reply.

"Abandoning your duties as a marine is also a criminal offence," he reminded her.

"Yes, it is!" she immediately replied, still looking as confident with her words as before.

Smoker grunted out a noise of confusion, silently wondering if the girl was even listening to him.

"I'm arresting you for breach of conduct!" he warned her.

"Oh yeah?" she growled, gripping the hilt of her Shigure in both hands. "Well then I'm arresting you for breach of conduct too!"

"What?" Smoker echoed.

But to his amazement, Tashigi slashed her sword against his jutte, her attack coming as such a surprise to him she managed to knock his hand to one side. As he tried to bring his hand around again to block her attacks, Smoker suddenly realised that his movements had been restricted. Looking down with a frown, he saw that Tashigi had lodged her sword through his jutte, effectively disabling both weapons.

"What the hell are you doing now?" he growled, looking up at her.

Tashigi merely grinned in response, placing the heel of one hand under the hilt of her sword and pushing sharply upwards. Smoker gasped as he realised what she was trying to do, but unfortunately could not react before his jutte arced upwards, the tip smacking into his forehead. Blinking hard against the dizzying effects of the sea-stone, Smoker saw Tashigi take hold of her sword again and tug backwards. Smoker mustered all his remaining strength to keep hold of his jutte as she tried to pry it from his hands.

"Not senior officer material, huh?" she snapped out childishly.

"What?" Smoker echoed, genuinely confused as to where she had gotten such an idea.

"I'll show you senior officer material!" she snarled, slamming the jutte back again.

Smoker leaned back, barely avoiding the tip, actually feeling a wave of panic washing over him.

* * *

"Cu-ah… Captain Smoker?"

Tashigi suddenly found herself too weak to support the weight of her sword, the hilt sliding between her fingers, and blade clattering against the tree roots on the ground around her feet. She seriously thought that she was dreaming, or else just hallucinating out of fear; Smoker never ventured anywhere near Port Leviathan, surely she was imagining it all? Overwhelmed by the whole situation, Tashigi began to lean backwards, feeling certain she was about to collapse; but her back collided hard with a tree, the jolt of the hit keeping her conscious and the trunk supporting her weight.

"Here," Smoker said gruffly, flipping the sword he held over to catch the blade in his gloved hand, holding the hilt out towards her. "This is yours."

The sound of his voice confirmed to Tashigi that it was really Captain Smoker that stood before her, his actual words taking a bit longer to register in her mind. Lowering her eyes to the sword he held towards her she blurted out a whimper of joy and disbelief at the sight of her Shigure, polished and perfect as the day she had first taken it in her hand.

"Shigure!" she gushed, reaching a hand towards it.

As her fingers touched the hilt, the recurring and torturous image she had been carrying of her precious sword rotting on the seabed replayed in her mind, her hand retracting on instinct as she began to wonder just how the sword been recovered from the wreckage of the naval ship and ended up in Smoker's hand. Lifting her head to look up at Smoker, the effort of her actions sending her back against the tree, Tashigi tried to form words to ask him what had happened.

"What…" she began weakly. "How did… I thought that…"

Smoker sighed, lowering his eyes to her Shigure, his actions giving Tashigi a little more strength to continue.

"I thought I'd lost it," she whispered.

"It sank with the ship," Smoker bluntly replied. "I see you've still got the sheath, you must have been missing it, so why don't you take it already?"

Smoker lifted his head sharply, his eyes glaring at her. The look he gave her was mean and cold, and a look Tashigi had never seen Smoker use on her before. She began to want to cry, the idea of being back on Port Leviathan, the sight of her Shigure looking so beautiful and Smoker's meanness proving too much for her. But still she refused to let him see her cry, and she tensed, holding her emotions back.

"What are you doing here anyway?" he asked gruffly.

"I didn't know where I was," she replied honestly. "But what are you doing here?"

"What the hell do you think I'm doing here?" Smoker snapped, glowering at her angrily.

Tashigi frowned up at Smoker, feeling more than a little disappointed with his reaction of moodily bouncing her own question back at her. "Looking for you Tashigi" would have been a nice answer, she thought dully. "I've been looking all over for you, I'm so glad you're alright" would have been an even nicer answer – but certainly not the sort of emotional response she could ever expect from her captain.

"Take the sword Tashigi," he grunted, roughly thrusting the hilt towards her.

"Thank you," she said softly, accepting his offer.

Tashigi was trying desperately to read his expression for any signs of remorse; but he was as typically dark and brooding as ever. Part of her wanted to just grab him into a hug and cry over how badly she had missed him and how much she desperately wanted to return to her life as a marine, and continue rescuing the named swords of the world. But Smoker was not even looking at her face any more, his eyes on something at her side. Moving her attention to something that was decidedly warmer, more affectionate and perhaps even more human than Smoker, Tashigi smiled at her Shigure, giving it a heartfelt hug, the closeness of the steel blade easing her worries a little.

"I've abandoned my duties for long enough," Smoker said quietly. "I'm sure you can appreciate that I have a responsibility to take you in."

Tashigi lifted her head, relieved that Smoker had finally announced his intentions to take her back to her rightful place in the ranks of the navy. She watched him with a tinge of bemusement as he began to pull his jutte from his back, since drawing his weapon after the evil bounty hunter had already fled seemed a little strange.

"Of all the marines I've ever worked with, you were the last one I ever expected to turn on me," he growled out, pointing his jutte at Tashigi.

"What are you doing?" Tashigi gasped, glancing back and forth between the tip of his jutte and his face, her heart leaping into her throat in fear and shock at his behaviour.

"Placing you under arrest," Smoker bluntly replied.

"What?" Tashigi roared, her eyes flashing angrily. "What for?"

"For being a pirate, idiot!"

"I'm not a pirate!"

"Joining a pirate crew, fighting alongside pirates, dressing like pirates and living with pirates makes you a pirate!"

"I had no other choice! You left me with those pirates! You were too busy dancing with Hina to care what happened to me! I was terrified and alone, and you were dancing and partying!"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"I saw you!"

"And I saw you "saluting" me."

"You asked for that!"

Tashigi watched Smoker intently, wishing with all her might that he would offer her at least an explanation for why he had left her that day, dancing with Hina and waving at Luffy like a total fool. If he had seen her making rude gestures at him after their ships had passed, surely he had clearly seen her stuck with the pirates when he was level with her, and so he had no excuse for leaving her the way he had.

"Abandoning your duties as a marine is also a criminal offence," he said darkly.

"Yes, it is!" Tashigi immediately replied, assuming that this was Smoker's way of saying that he had been wrong to leave her, ignoring his duty to rescue her.

"I'm arresting you for breach of conduct!" he added, his words making Tashigi question if this was even Captain Smoker she was talking with.

"Oh yeah?" she growled, gripping the hilt of her Shigure in both hands. "Well then I'm arresting you for breach of conduct too!"

"What?" Smoker echoed.

Furious that he had left her with pirates and was now being uncivil and threatening to arrest her, Tashigi decided the only way to make Smoker understand her pain was to cause him some. And since he was apparently immune to emotional hurt, she would have to physically hurt him. Knowing his weaknesses better than anyone, Tashigi carefully angled her Shigure before sharply swinging it around against his jutte, wedging the blade between the two prongs of his jutte. Smoker scowled at her actions, apparently oblivious to her plan.

"What the hell are you doing now?" he growled, lifting his eyes to hers.

Tashigi merely grinned in response, placing the heel of one hand under the hilt of her sword and pushing sharply upwards. With her sword woven through his jutte, her actions forced the seastone tip of the jutte upwards and towards Smoker's head. She saw a brief, panicked look pass over his face before the tip of the jutte whacked him in the middle of his forehead. He blinked repeatedly, a cigar falling from his mouth, his eyes crossing a little, one foot stumbling as he tried to keep his balance. Tashigi had not expected the blow to leave him so weak, and she decided she would take the jutte from him, leaving him completely at her mercy. Shifting the angle of her blade again, Tashigi tried to use her sword to tug the jutte from Smoker's grasp; but he suddenly tightened his hold, stopping her from succeeding; but she still felt confident she could get it from him.

"Not senior officer material, huh?" she sneered.

"What?" Smoker echoed.

"I'll show you senior officer material!" she snarled, slamming the jutte back again.

To her frustration, Smoker leaned out of her range, but Tashigi did not miss the glint of panic in his eyes.

"Why did you leave me there?" she roared, pushing repeatedly against her sword.

"You're the one who left!" Smoker growled back, his teeth tightly clenched around his remaining cigar. "You joined the Straw-Hat Pirates because of that monster Roronoa Zoro!"

Tashigi faltered, her mind racing at Smoker's words. She had spent every waking minute of the past few days asking herself over and over why he had left her with pirates, and even tried to formulate any possible reasons he could have had; but the answer he had given her was neither an answer she had imagined she might hear nor did it make any sense to her.

"What do I have to do to make you see sense?" Smoker suddenly yelled, pushing hard on his jutte.

Tashigi screamed involuntarily, stumbling back, finding herself against the tree again.

"Sense?" she squeaked, looking into Smoker's eyes as he stepped in on her, trapping her between the tree and his body. "You're the one who doesn't make any sense!"

Tashigi took one hand from her sword and grabbed Smoker's jutte near the tip, pushing it towards him. She saw him sweat a little before he pushed back harder still, pinning her hard against the tree.

"I haven't done anything wrong!" Tashigi yelped. "You're the one who was wrong!"

"You're the one who ran away with pirates!" Smoker shot back.

"You're the one who didn't try to rescue me after I was kidnapped by pirates!"

"First you begged me to spare Roronoa's life, and then you took him in your arms and fled with him!"

"What?"

Tashigi eyed Smoker over incredulously, wondering where he had gotten such a stupid idea from: she had been begging for his life, and she had only run to Zoro because she thought he was Smoker!

"Well, you're the one who took Hina in your arms and left me behind!" Tashigi spat out.

"You're not listening to me!" Smoker growled.

"You're not listening to me!" Tashigi wailed.

"This is hopeless!" Smoker said with a sigh. "Why don't you just put down your weapon and come with me quietly?"

"It's too late for that now!" Tashigi snapped. "I don't want to go anywhere with you any more!"

"You don't have a choice, I'm arresting you!"

"Oh no you're not!"

Tashigi began pushing on her sword and Smoker began pushing back on his jutte. She was growing increasingly frustrated and infuriated, and Smoker's complete lack of remorse only served to fuel her negative emotions. She refused to back down until he apologised.

* * *

Zoro groaned, looking about himself with a dejected pout. Not only had he lost every single member of his crew, but he had well and truly lost his way. He could not even remember which direction he had just come from, much less which direction the beach was or which direction the rest of the crew were. Zoro stood turning on the spot in the hope of seeing some sort of clue as to which way to go, perking up at the sound of a swordfight.

Running in the direction of the noise, Zoro almost tripped over his own feet at what he found: Tashigi was backed up against a tree, her sword locked with Smoker's jutte, the two of them scowling at each other with utter contempt, each pushing on each other's weapons, at an apparent stale-mate.

"Uh…" he began nervously. "Have either of you seen Luffy or any of my crew?"

Zoro tensed as both marines moved their eyes to him, both of them glaring daggers at him.

"Never mind," he said quietly, holding up both hands. "Goodbye."

Zoro turned to leave but stopped short at the sound of Tashigi's voice behind him.

"Where the hell do you think you're going Roronoa?"

Zoro whimpered, the words "why me" circling his brain as he slowly turned back to the two warring marines.

"This is all your fault, pirate," Smoker snarled at him.

"Huh?" Zoro echoed.

"It is not his fault!" Tashigi snapped, baring her teeth at Smoker.

"You're defending him?" Smoker roared. "Of course you are!"

"This is your fault!" Tashigi argued back.

"No, it's your fault!" Smoker replied.

"Your fault!" Tashigi yelled.

"You're being childish!"

"How dare you say that to me?"

Tashigi growled like a rabid dog, and the two of them began pushing back and forth on their entangled weapons. Zoro watched them bemusedly until their pointless actions began to get on his nerves. Drawing out his swords, Zoro carefully placed the Wado Ichimonji in his mouth and took a sword in each hand, watching their actions carefully before jumping towards them and swiping at them with his swords.

Zoro had no idea why Smoker and Tashigi were fighting each other, but they were apparently very confused and too focussed on each other to realise his plans until it was too late. With a few well placed slashes, Zoro disarmed them both, returned the swords in his hands to his hip and took Tashigi's sword in one hand and Smoker's jutte in the other, aiming the sword at Tashigi and the jutte at Smoker. Smoker's failure to use his Devil Fruit powers to save himself left him on the ground and Tashigi still pinned to the tree, Zoro standing between them, the Wado Ichmonji still firmly lodged between his jaws.

"What's going on here?" he asked, glancing back and forth between the two marines.

"You're threatening me with my own Shigure?" Tashigi whimpered.

An image of the green and white parasol Tashigi had slapped Sanji with flitted through Zoro's mind at her mention of the name "Shigure", bringing his eyes sharply to the object he had pointed at her. He arched his eyebrows at the sight of the sword Tashigi typically carried with her, the same one she had leapt into the ocean after.

"Where did this come from?" he asked her.

"Smokey brought it back," Tashigi replied, her eyes thinning at Smoker as she spoke.

Zoro turned to Smoker, who was on the ground, propped up on his elbows, his head back as he tried to keep himself a safe distance from the seastone in his jutte.

"What's going on here?" he asked the marine captain, hoping to get a more sensible answer.

"You got lucky this time, but next time I'll have your head!" Smoker growled back.

"Keep talking like that and there won't be a next time!" Zoro snapped back, leaning closer to Smoker, moving the tip of the jutte closer to his face.

Zoro watched Smoker cross his eyes to focus on the seastone, his throat moving in a silent, anxious gulp. With a sigh of frustration, Zoro turned back to Tashigi, who looked like she was about to start crying.

"How about you?" he asked her. "Can you tell me what's happening here?"

"Where's Luffy?" Tashigi whimpered, tears bubbling up in her eyes.

"Luffy?" Zoro echoed, almost dropping the Wado Ichimonji in his shock at her words. "What do you want Luffy for?"

"When I was little girl, I used to play the flute," she replied. "I want to ask Luffy if I can be his musician."

"What?" Zoro yelped, this time dropping Kuina's sword as his jaw fell open in shock.

"Neither of you are going anywhere, you're both under arrest!" Smoker barked.

Zoro turned to Smoker, who looked as though he was smoking with rage, looked back at Tashigi, who was clearly delirious, and then turned back to Smoker, deciding his situation could be made more comfortable if he debilitated one of the annoying marines.

"You shut-up, I'm trying to think!" Zoro grunted, thrusting the jutte towards Smoker, stabbing him in the forehead.

Smoker groaned, falling back to lie flat on his back, his cigar falling from his mouth, his arms and legs splayed at his sides.

"What did you do that for?" Tashigi snapped, stamping a foot at Zoro.

Zoro turned fully to face her, arching his eyebrows at her. Her eyes went wide for a moment as she stared at Smoker, before she rapidly shook her head from side to side, her face creasing in anger.

"I mean, I don't care what you do to him!" she corrected herself.

Zoro sighed again, resisting the urge to curse repeatedly.

"This island is no place for marines," he said slowly. "Why don't you both leave, and go back to the navy?"

Tashigi balked at Zoro's words, jabbing a finger in Smoker's direction and shaking her head.

"I'm not going anywhere with him!" she argued. "He tried to arrest me! He abandoned me! He left with me pirates, and now he's trying to ruin my career!"

Zoro growled, a migraine building momentum behind his eyes as he tried to remain patient.

"Marine business isn't a pirate's business," he said slowly, crouching down to retrieve the Wado Ichimonji. "Sort your petty problems out yourselves!"

Zoro kept Smoker's jutte in his left hand and Tashigi's sword in his right as he walked off, not even bothering to look back to check if either marine would bother trying to follow him. However he had not gone far before he heard Tashigi throwing something and yelling at Smoker.

"I hate you!" she shouted, sounding considerably younger than she was in her tone. "I can't believe I ever thought you were my Edward Ferrars!"

"What the…?" Zoro grunted, screwing up his face at her words.

Zoro's confusion was quickly replaced by overwhelming horror as he heard footsteps running after him.

"Give me back my Shigure!" Tashigi snapped, grabbing at his arm.

"You can't join our crew!" Zoro hurriedly responded, tugging his arm from her grasp.

"That's not your decision to make!" she moodily replied.

"I'm the first mate, I have to agree with any decisions the captain makes, and I don't agree with this one!" Zoro frankly told her.

"Hey!" Smoker yelled over to them. "Who the hell is Edward Ferrars?"

"Elinor Dashwood's lover!" Zoro yelled back.

"You read that whole book?" Tashigi echoed, eying Zoro over incredulously.

Zoro growled at her, his grip tightening on the two weapons he held, an urge to use one of them on her rising inside of him.

"You make my life difficult!" he blurted at her. "I'm going to find my crew, don't bother following me any more!"

"Don't follow you?" Tashigi repeated. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Go back to your own captain!" Zoro shouted, pointing Smoker's jutte at where the marine captain sat in the grass. "Just leave me alone!"

Zoro started to walk off again before an idea occurred to him: he would never be rid of the girl if he kept her precious sword.

"Here," he grunted, tossing her sword over his shoulder. "Don't bother trying to use it against me."

Zoro walked on again, silently glad when he did not hear Tashigi or Smoker try to follow him again.


	17. You Were Wrong

**A/N:** I did promise I would (eventually) finish off all the unfinished fanfics I have posted, and I found this completed chapter on my computer. Written a long time ago, and also a long time after chapter 16, so hope it makes sense.

* * *

 **Chapter 17 – You Were Wrong**

"Uh… Have either of you seen Luffy or any of my crew?"

Smoker shifted his eyes from Tashigi to the source of the voice, finding the root of all his recent problems standing next them.

"Never mind," Zoro continued, holding up both hands. "Goodbye."

Zoro turned to leave but stopped short at the sound of Tashigi's voice.

"Where the hell do you think you're going Roronoa?" she growled at him.

"This is all your fault, pirate," Smoker snarled at him.

"Huh?" Zoro echoed.

"It is not his fault!" Tashigi snapped.

Smoker turned sharply back to Tashigi, finding her scowling at him angrily, apparently confident that the pirate was innocent.

"You're defending him?" Smoker roared in disbelief. "Of course you are!"

Hina, it seemed, really had been right about Tashigi's feelings for Zoro all along.

"This is your fault!" Tashigi argued back, taking Smoker a little by surprise.

"No, it's your fault!" Smoker pointed out; after all, she had chosen to leave with pirates.

"Your fault!" Tashigi stubbornly yelled.

"You're being childish!" Smoker scolded her.

"How dare you say that to me?"

Smoker realised after his last words had left his mouth that they would probably hurt Tashigi more than he had intended them to; she did so hate it if she thought he was talking down to her because she was young or female. And just to confirm his beliefs, she began pushing against her sword in another attempt to force the seastone of his jutte closer to him. Smoker hurriedly pushed back, trying not to push so hard that he hurt her – although it was becoming increasingly difficult to defend himself without hurting Tashigi. Concentrating all his efforts on controlling Tashigi's actions and keeping himself a safe distance from his own weapon, Smoker was taken completely by surprise as something suddenly and forcefully whipped his jutte from his hands. Something hit him in the gut, tipping his balance and sending him to the ground. As he started to push himself up, Smoker suddenly found the seastone of his jutte mere inches from his face. Moving his eyes up the length of his weapon, Smoker found Zoro standing with a sword in his mouth, Smoker's jutte in one hand and Tashigi's sword in the other.

"What's going on here?" Zoro asked, glancing back and forth between the two marines.

"You're threatening me with my own Shigure?" Tashigi whimpered, pressing herself harder against the tree to avoid the lethally sharp tip of her own sword.

Zoro paused, eying Tashigi and her sword over curiously before continuing.

"Where did this come from?" he asked her.

"Smokey brought it back," Tashigi replied, her eyes thinning at Smoker as she spoke.

Smoker suppressed a growl of anger as she referred to him by the nickname Straw-Hat had given him, yet another sign that she had joined those vile pirates.

"What's going on here?" Zoro asked him.

"You got lucky this time, but next time I'll have your head!" Smoker growled back.

"Keep talking like that and there won't be a next time!" Zoro snapped back, leaning closer to Smoker, moving the tip of the jutte closer to his face.

Smoker tried to lean further away from the jutte, but found himself unable to move unless he lay flat on his back, which he refused to do. Zoro sighed above him, turning his head back to Tashigi.

"How about you?" he asked her. "Can you tell me what's happening here?"

"Where's Luffy?" Tashigi whimpered.

"Luffy?" Zoro echoed. "What do you want Luffy for?"

"When I was little girl, I used to play the flute," she replied. "I want to ask Luffy if I can be his musician."

"What?" Zoro yelped, his mouth opening so wide he dropped his own sword.

"Neither of you are going anywhere, you're both under arrest!" Smoker barked.

Zoro turned to Smoker, looked back at Tashigi, and then turned back to Smoker, his eyes thinning into a scowl.

"You shut-up, I'm trying to think!" Zoro grunted, thrusting the jutte towards Smoker, stabbing him in the forehead.

Smoker groaned, falling back to lie flat on his back, his remaining cigar falling from his mouth, his arms and legs splaying at his sides as the debilitating effects of the seastone overwhelmed him. He vaguely heard Tashigi and Zoro speaking, their words sounding muffled and blurred, as though he was actually underwater. Closing his eyes and screwing up his face, Smoker tried to focus his energy, Tashigi's voice reaching his ears as he did so, her words slowly becoming clear.

"–not going anywhere with him!" he heard her say. "He tried to arrest me! He abandoned me! He left with me pirates, and now he's trying to ruin my career!"

"Marine business isn't a pirate's business," Zoro answered her. "Sort your petty problems out yourselves!"

Smoker heard Zoro walk off, but Tashigi did not appear to be following him. A few seconds later, something sharp jabbed at his shoulder, upon which Smoker's eyes snapped open, finding Tashigi standing over him, a twig in her hand. She looked angry but her eyes were filled with tears. She was shaking, and Smoker could not be sure if it was with anger or sadness.

"I hate you!" she shouted childishly, throwing the twig at his head. "I can't believe I ever thought you were my Edward Ferrars!"

She then ran off, leaving Smoker feeling very confused: who was Edward Ferrars? Was that the name of one of the Straw-Hat Pirates? Perhaps it was the one with the blonde hair. But what did she mean by comparing Smoker to Edward Ferrars? Smoker pushed himself up onto one elbow, turning in the direction Zoro and Tashigi had left in, finding them standing a short distance from him.

"Hey!" Smoker yelled over to them. "Who the hell is Edward Ferrars?"

"Elinor Dashwood's lover!" Zoro yelled back.

"Who the hell is Elinor Dashwood?" Smoker grumbled to himself as he sat up.

Sighing in frustration, Smoker raked his fingers through his hair with one hand, plucking two cigars from his coat with the other. Lighting his cigars, Smoker cast a sideward glance at Zoro and Tashigi, one eyebrow inching upwards as Zoro flung Tashigi's treasured sword over his shoulder at her before sauntering off. Smoker watched in a state of bemusement as Tashigi slowly moved towards her sword, her head fixed in Zoro's direction as she squatted down and retrieved her weapon. She hesitated for a moment before jogging after Zoro, tripping and almost falling over as she ran.

Smoker sighed turning to his side to find the sword she had been carrying still lying in the grass at his side. Apparently her love for Zoro was stronger than her love for swords, as she had just abandoned a sword and shown no concern when Zoro had thrown her precious Shigure away. Smoker had never thought it possible for Tashigi to love anything more than her swords, an ironic grin twisting at his features.

"It's true what they say," he grumbled, shaking his head. "Treat them mean, keep them keen."

* * *

"This is all your fault, pirate," Smoker snarled.

"Huh?" Zoro echoed.

"It is not his fault!" Tashigi snapped, baring her teeth at Smoker, wondering how many times she had to explain to her captain that he was to blame for their current predicament.

"You're defending him?" Smoker roared. "Of course you are!"

"This is your fault!" Tashigi argued back, his stubbornness starting to infuriate her.

"No, it's your fault!" Smoker replied.

"Your fault!" Tashigi yelled.

"You're being childish!"

"How dare you say that to me?"

Tashigi growled, renewing her efforts to smack Smoker in the head with his own jutte again. So he still thought that she was childish? She was still the butt of the in-jokes he shared with Hina. Still just a silly little girl incapable of thinking or acting for herself. Tashigi's shoulders began to ache as she tried to push against Smoker, who appeared to be using very little effort to restrain her offence. In fact, she thought despairingly, he was actually pushing her harder against the tree, to the point that her spine was starting to hurt. Just as Tashigi was about to give up, her sword was suddenly whisked from her hands. She gasped in alarm as a flash of green and white shot past her eyes and Smoker fell to the ground.

Zoro landed between Tashigi and Smoker, swiftly dropping two swords into their scabbards at his hip and taking a newly acquired weapon in each hand, pointing Smoker's jutte at Smoker and Tashigi's Shigure at Tashigi. Tashigi's face contorted, the sight of her own blade threatening her proving to be more heart-wrenching than she had expected; and the sight of Zoro with her sword positively was too much for her already fragile heart.

"What's going on here?" Zoro asked, glancing back and forth between the two marines.

"You're threatening me with my own Shigure?" Tashigi whimpered, hoping that he would at least remove his threat if not return her Shigure to her.

Zoro dropped his eyes to the Shigure, his eyebrows rising as he studied the blade and hilt.

"Where did this come from?" he asked, lifting his eyes to Tashigi once more.

"Smokey brought it back," Tashigi replied, casting Smoker a dark look as she answered Zoro.

"What's going on here?" Zoro asked, turning to Smoker.

"You got lucky this time, but next time I'll have your head!" Smoker growled back.

"Keep talking like that and there won't be a next time!" Zoro snapped back, leaning closer to Smoker, moving the tip of the jutte closer to his face.

The sight of Smoker faltering a little, a sweat glistening across his brow as he tried to remain stoic in the face of his biggest weakness suddenly made Tashigi want to cry – even more so than the idea of Zoro threatening her with her own sword. And the thought of crying over Smoker being stripped of his dignity only made Tashigi angry with herself: why should she even care? He had abandoned her! And yet seeing him again, and so suddenly, she was once more reminded of her despair at having been away from the navy and in the company of pirates.

"How about you?" Zoro asked her, awakening her from her thoughts. "Can you tell me what's happening here?"

Angry and confused, and determined not to be arrested by her own commanding officer, Tashigi latched onto her one possible means of escape from her predicament.

"Where's Luffy?" she asked, trying to ignore the tears that threatened as she considered what she was about to do.

"Luffy?" Zoro echoed. "What do you want Luffy for?"

"When I was little girl, I used to play the flute," she replied. "I want to ask Luffy if I can be his musician."

"What?" Zoro yelped, the Wado Ichimonji falling to the ground as his jaw fell open in shock.

"Neither of you are going anywhere, you're both under arrest!" Smoker barked.

Tashigi snorted in disbelief that Smoker was still determined to arrest her – for what? He was the one who had defied naval rules by abandoning an officer. And she was his subordinate, his responsibility, and still he had willingly left her with pirates!

"You shut-up, I'm trying to think!" Zoro grunted, thrusting the jutte towards Smoker.

Tashigi gasped as the seastone tip of Smoker's jutte stabbed into his forehead and he let out a pitiful groan unbefitting of both his rank and character, his body going limp and flattening to the ground. His remaining cigar fell from his lips, tumbling to the grass, barely missing burning his cheek as it fell.

"What did you do that for?" Tashigi snapped, stamping a foot at Zoro.

Zoro turned fully to face her, arching his eyebrows at her. Tashigi moved her eyes to Smoker, hesitating as her torn loyalties warred inside her head. With a groan of frustration, she shook her head with determination, moving her eyes back to Zoro.

"I mean, I don't care what you do to him!" she corrected herself.

"This island is no place for marines," Zoro said slowly. "Why don't you both leave, and go back to the navy?"

Tashigi balked at Zoro's words, jabbing a finger in Smoker's direction and shaking her head.

"I'm not going anywhere with him!" she argued. "He tried to arrest me! He abandoned me! He left with me pirates, and now he's trying to ruin my career!"

"Marine business isn't a pirate's business," Zoro said slowly, crouching down to retrieve the Wado Ichimonji. "Sort your petty problems out yourselves!"

Tashigi yelped indignantly, her jaw dropping as she watched Zoro saunter off, replacing the Wado Ichimonji to its place at his hip and carrying both Smoker's jutte and Tashigi's Shigure with him. Did he intend to steal her Shigure? After accusing her repeatedly of trying to steal his swords, now he was stealing from her? Tashigi growled moodily, her eyes moving back to Smoker, who was lying very still, his limbs spread loosely at his sides and his eyes closed. Tashigi began to frown, wondering if a shot from the seastone was enough to kill, as Smoker did not even appear to be breathing. Unable to fight her concern, Tashigi crept closer to Smoker, pausing to collect a stick on her way to his side.

"Captain Smoker?" she whispered, prodding his shoulder with the stick.

When he did not respond, Tashigi began to feel a lump form in her throat: whilst she was furious with him, she had not wished him dead. She jabbed him harder, feeling both relieved and angered when his eyes abruptly opened, looking directly up at her.

"I hate you!" she shouted, throwing the stick at his head. "I can't believe I ever thought you were my Edward Ferrars!"

Tashigi hurriedly turned her back on Smoker before he saw her cry again, running off after Zoro with only one clear thought in her mind.

"Give me back my Shigure!" she demanded, grabbing Zoro's arm to halt his progress.

"You can't join our crew!" Zoro hurriedly responded, tugging his arm from her grasp.

"That's not your decision to make!" Tashigi shot back, silently wondering what that had to do with her sword.

"I'm the first mate, I have to agree with any decisions the captain makes, and I don't agree with this one!" Zoro frankly told her.

"Hey!" Smoker yelled over to them. "Who the hell is Edward Ferrars?"

"Elinor Dashwood's lover!" Zoro yelled back.

"You read that whole book?" Tashigi echoed, eying Zoro over incredulously.

Zoro growled, his face twitching through a variety of displeased expressions.

"You make my life difficult!" he eventually said. "I'm going to find my crew, don't bother following me any more!"

"Don't follow you?" Tashigi repeated. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Go back to your own captain!" Zoro shouted, pointing Smoker's jutte at where Smoker was still sat. "Just leave me alone!"

Zoro started to walk off, but then paused, his head turning slightly, one eye looking back over his shoulder in Tashigi's direction.

"Here," he grunted, tossing her sword over his shoulder. "Don't bother trying to use it against me."

Tashigi gasped quietly as her Shigure hit the ground, her eyes darting between her sword and Zoro, her mind racing as she tried to reach a sensible decision about what to do next. Zoro was moving away from her with long, brisk strides, the gap between them growing rapidly, warning her that if she did not act quickly, she would lose sight of him altogether. Keeping her eyes on Zoro's diminishing form, Tashigi moved over to where her Shigure lay, crouching down to collect it. As she straightened once more, Tashigi paused, her heart sinking at the idea that she was being forced to become a pirate – something she hated above all else – because her own captain was such a thoughtless jerk.

Sighing in despair at the realisation that she had no choice in the matter, Tashigi started after Zoro, yelping as she stumbled over a tree root, almost falling onto her face in the process. As Tashigi righted herself she paused once more, nervously looking back over her shoulder. She quickly located Smoker, who was still sat where Zoro had floored him. His head was turned away from her, but Tashigi did not sense an air of urgency about him. Apparently he really did not care what she did, and he would gladly hunt her down and take her life as a pirate. Baring her teeth and growling angrily, Tashigi ran off after Zoro as fast as she could, soon catching up to him.

"Gah!" Zoro yelped, stumbling to a halt as she neared him. "What are you doing? I said don't follow me! I said leave me alone, you crazy woman!"

"I'm not crazy!" Tashigi yelled back at him, her eyebrows inching upwards as the tone of her voice sounded more than a little crazy even to her own ears.

Zoro groaned out some choice curse words under his breath before his face shifted as an idea apparently occurred to him. He began to say something to her, but Tashigi's attention was drawn from Zoro as she heard startled voices calling out, accompanied by the sound of several sets of footsteps crashing through the undergrowth of the forest.

"Luffy, what were you thinking?" Nami cried.

"They're gaining on us, I don't think we can out-run them!" Sanji warned.

"I don't have to out-run them," Usopp announced cheerfully. "I just have to out-run you!"

Nami screamed as Usopp yanked her back to leap ahead of her. Tashigi watched as the Straw-Hat crew ran by before turning to Zoro for an explanation. Zoro merely shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"What's going on?" Tashigi called as she spotted Robin jogging towards them.

"Nothing good," Robin replied, smirking a little as she spoke.

"What did he do this time?" Zoro asked.

"He tried to win a pie eating contest," Robin replied as she passed them.

"It wasn't a pie eating contest," Zoro concluded.

"No, it wasn't," Robin called back over her shoulder.

Zoro rolled his eyes and started after Robin. Tashigi hesitated, glancing back and forth between the departing pirate crew and the direction they had come from. She could not decide whether she ought to follow the Straw-Hat pirates back out to sea or go back and attempt to renegotiate with Smoker; but the sound of an approaching angry mob soon made her decision easier.

* * *

"Everyone back?" Sanji called out.

"Yes, let's go!" Nami urged.

"What about Zoro and Luffy?" Usopp asked desperately.

"They'll catch up!" Nami replied dismissively.

Zoro growled, gritting his teeth as he ran at the Going Merry. Robin was still climbing the rope ladder aboard and the ship was slowly easing out to sea.

"Don't worry, I gotcha!" Zoro heard Luffy yell.

Zoro barely had time to grunt out a curse before Luffy collided with him, catapulting him onto the deck of their ship.

"I could have caught up with the ship just fine by myself," Zoro grumbled, staggering to his feet.

He adjusted his clothing indignantly, heading towards Usopp in the hope of borrowing a set of binoculars to check out how bad the situation back on land was. On his way across the deck, Zoro was stopped suddenly as something shot up into his path.

"What the-?" he yelped, staggering back.

"That was close!" Tashigi answered him, smoothing back her hair and grinning gormlessly.

"What are you doing here?" Zoro blurted out. "You said you were going back to the navy!"

Zoro's fingers began to twitch as his hand hovered over his swords. The stupid marine was looking at him as though he had just said something utterly absurd.

"No…" she said slowly, her eyes looking up towards the sky.

Zoro tried to reprimand her stupidity, but his mouth did not appear to be obeying his brain, and instead of telling the girl what an idiot she was, a series of scratchy noises left his lips, causing Tashigi to regard him as though he were a particularly unattractive puppy chewing on a bunch of bees.

"You!" Zoro eventually managed, rounding on Luffy. "Why did you pick her up and take her back on this ship?"

"We couldn't leave her back there, Zoro," Luffy plainly replied.

"Yes we could!" Zoro hurriedly corrected him.

"Oh no we couldn't, that island was a really dangerous place, especially for a marine," Luffy insisted, his face shadowed with uncharacteristic concern and sincerity.

"Smokey was there too," Zoro said, crossing his arms over his chest. "He came for her, the right thing to do would have been to leave her there for him to take away."

"You mean like a baby bird you find fallen out of its nest?" Tashigi shrieked at Zoro's back.

"What?" Zoro echoed incredulously, scowling over his shoulder at her.

"You're talking about me like I'm some sort of animal, cast out by my herd!" Tashigi replied, waving her arms around a little too dramatically for Zoro's liking. "Like taking me back here might put the scent of pirate on me, and the other marines won't ever let me back!"

"Well that's true, isn't it?" Zoro snapped, turning to fully face her. "Now that Smokey has seen you come back with us, he won't ever let you back into the navy! You're an idiot!"

"You're an idiot!" Tashigi screamed.

"You're so stupid, you don't even know that you're an idiot!"

"Well you're so stupid, you don't even know that everyone else knows that you're an idiot!"

"That doesn't make any sense, stupid!"

"You don't make any sense, stupid!"

"You're stupid!"

"You're stupid!"

"You're both damn stupid, now shut the hell up, you're giving me a headache!"

Zoro inhaled sharply through his nostrils, his eyes widening as the sound of the voice to interrupt his argument with Tashigi. From the corner of one eye, Zoro could just make out the outline of the person who had silenced them both. In front of him, Tashigi looked like she might cry again, her hands fluttering about her head as she seemed unable to decide whether she ought to hide her face or not.

"Luffy?" Zoro began quietly, turning on his heels to face his captain.

"Yeah Zoro?" Luffy asked.

"Um…" Zoro began slowly. "What is he doing here?"

Luffy looked from side to side before squinting curiously at Zoro.

"Who?" he asked.

"Him," Zoro growled, pointing at the man who had successfully ended Zoro's argument with Tashigi.

"I already told you," Luffy replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "That island was real dangerous, especially for a marine. We couldn't have just left them both there."

Zoro groaned, lowering his head and pinching at the bridge of his nose as a migraine threatened.

"You're all idiots…" he grumbled under his breath, lifting his head and rolling his eyes in despair.

"The important thing right now is to just get out of here!" Nami announced.

Zoro eyed Nami over briefly before turning his head in the direction of Tashigi's commanding officer, who Luffy apparently had an affiliation for.

"I'm not finished with you," the marine warned, narrowing his eyes at Zoro.

"You're in no position to be making threats," Zoro pointed out. "You're out-numbered, and at sea. I don't like your chances."

"Please don't fight right now!" Tashigi begged, stepping between them. "Zoro, please! Captain Smoker, we need to get away from that horrible place!"

Zoro watched carefully as Smokey seemingly backed down upon Tashigi's request. Zoro then remembered what Smokey had said to him the day they had fought on the marine ship when Tashigi had confused the two men: he had said that he would never refuse Tashigi anything.

"Yeah, back off old man!" Zoro added with a smirk, walking over to join them and resting a hand on Tashigi's shoulder.

Zoro saw Smokey look down at where his hand was touching Tashigi, his expression shifting into the angular, vicious look he usually wore around the Straw-Hat crew.

"You dirty bastard!" he growled.

Zoro snatched back his hand, watching in alarm as Smokey swung around his jutte – which he had apparently retrieved before being collected by Luffy – the weapon swinging through the space where Zoro's forearm had been before colliding with the deck of the ship and cracking one of the boards. Zoro winced at the idea that if he had not moved so quickly his arm would have easily been broken by the attack. To Zoro's absolute astonishment, Smokey then dropped his jutte, let out a roar of anger and dove at him.

"No!" Tashigi cried.

"Zoro, don't be so stupid!" Nami cried. "Don't do this now, we're under attack from those bandits!"

"I'm not doing anything!" Zoro cried out before his back hit the deck and the air was forced from his lungs by the weight of the large marine landing on him.

Zoro paused, his eyebrows flickering into a frown as he locked eyes with Smokey, who was doing nothing more than pin him to the ground and glare at him.

"What are gonna do now?" Zoro taunted him. "Smoke me to death?"

"No," Smokey growled back through tightly clenched teeth. "I want the pleasure of squeezing the life out of you with my bare hands…"

Zoro began to smirk confidently, but his expression quickly contorted as Smokey gripped both hands around his neck and squeezed so tightly, Zoro was certain he heard bones cracking. He swung a punch at Smokey's face, grunting in frustration as his knuckles swung through the cloud of smoke that promptly replaced the marine's head. Zoro began hurriedly sifting through his options for escaping his current predicament, quickly coming to the conclusion that Smokey really was a force to be reckoned with; but before he could come up with a solution to his problem, he was distracted by the sound of voices yelling and the sickening sound of Nami and Usopp screaming fearfully.

A second later, Zoro saw the reason for their panic: a wall of water was heading towards the opposite side of the ship, curling over at an angle that told him the wave would crash across the deck of the ship, likely washing away the marines with it. Feeling confident again, Zoro allowed himself to smirk against his own discomfort.

"What the hell are you smiling about?" Smokey growled at him.

Zoro opened his mouth, but before he could voice his reply, the wave hit the ship, and the pressure from his neck was released. The rush of water was a little more forceful than Zoro had predicted, and he quickly had to grab at the railings of the ship to stop himself from being washed away. Every surface he touched was wet and slippery, and he barely managed to hold on and regain his footing as the Going Merry continued to lurch around in the turbulent waters.

Looking about himself, Zoro saw that Nami had grabbed onto Chopper to stop him from falling into the sea, and Usopp had grabbed onto Nami to steady her. The idiot chef screamed out Robin's name before throwing himself overboard; which seemed like an utterly ridiculous thing to do in Zoro's eyes until he noticed that Luffy was missing.

"Luffy!" he cried, turning around and leaping over the side of the ship.

The water was cold and the waves merciless. Realising that even a strong swimmer could quickly drown in such conditions, Zoro drew in a deep breath and dived under the water, looking about himself for any trace of his captain. Miraculously he shortly saw a flash of red from one corner of his eye, and pushing himself in the direction it came from and swimming down deeper into the water, Zoro soon located Luffy, who was sinking as helplessly as he always did. Grabbing at Luffy's arms, Zoro turned and fought his way back towards the surface of the water, inwardly cursing the cold, the violent waves and the fact that Luffy seemed to become ten times heavier when debilitated under water.

When he eventually surfaced again Zoro made sure to pull Luffy's head out of the water and check that he drew a breath before he began trying to get his bearings.

"Oh that's bad…" Luffy said weakly, squinting at something beyond Zoro's shoulders.

Zoro turned his head, snarling out a string of profanity as he saw that they had somehow resurfaced a considerable distance from the Going Merry, a distance that would be virtually impossible to cross dragging Luffy's dead weight, fighting against the currents and chasing after a ship that was being swept away from them at an alarming speed. Zoro growled in frustration then as he saw Nami waving at him as Usopp began swinging a large black object around. The idiots were probably yelling at him under the illusion that he would be able to hear them over the roar of the waves.

Tightening his hold on Luffy, Zoro started to attempt to swim after the ship, hoping that the idiots onboard might manage to anchor the ship in one spot to make his task a little easier. A wave slapped down hard on top of him, sending him back under the water. He dragged himself back up the surface, hoisting Luffy up at his side, jerking in alarm as something splashed sharply into the water immediately in front of him. Zoro frowned as he saw something sinking down into the water, following the length of it back to surface.

Unsure if he ought to be shocked or simply relieved, Zoro realised that Usopp had used a crossbow to shoot an arrow tied to a length of rope into the water. He quickly grabbed at the sinking rope, winding it around one arm and tightening his hold of Luffy with the other. The rope began to tug him in the direction of the ship, and so Zoro concentrated his efforts on keeping his captain above water.

Before long Zoro was by the side of the ship, where he quickly tied the rope around Luffy's waist to allow the others to pull him up the deck, before hurriedly climbing the rope himself and gladly dropping back onto the reassuringly solid deck of the ship.

"Is everybody okay?" Luffy asked, touching a hand to his hat as though to reassure himself that it was still in place.

"Not exactly," Nami tightly replied.

"What are you talking about?" Zoro scoffed dismissively. "I'm here, Luffy's here, you're here, Usopp's here, Chopper's here, Robin's here and even the love-rat survived drowning liked a… drowned rat."

Sanji made a rude hand gesture at Zoro from his position at Robin's side, but Zoro chose to ignore it.

"Tashigi jumped in after that Smokey guy," Usopp explained. "She hasn't surfaced since."

"Well…"

Zoro tried to say that he did not care, he tried to say that he was glad that she was gone at last, he tried to say that he hoped that the two marines had drowned; but for some reason his mouth was not obeying his mind, and instead he was left with a dull pain at the back of his head and a distinct tightening across his chest.

"We have to find her," Nami concluded. "I mean, in these waters, he's probably… Well, y'know… But there's still hope for Tashigi, we just have to find her. Everybody start looking!"

Zoro grunted as Nami thrust a pair of binoculars against his chest, releasing them before he had fully taken hold of them. He watched in mild awe as Sanji, Nami and Usopp all began scanning the waters, whilst Chopper tended to Luffy and Robin. He still thought that he ought to laugh at them and refuse to join in, and yet he found himself lifting the binoculars to his eyes and looking about himself anyway.

Apparently the girl still had an unusual and inexplicable power over his actions.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Will the Straw Hat Pirates find Tashigi? Will Zoro care? Will Tashigi join their crew? Will Zoro let her? And what about Smoker? (When I eventually write it, it will be the last chapter) **Chapter 18 - Grace**


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